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CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Dimensions

Dimensions 27 Sampson Avenue

27 Sampson Avenue, Barnet, EN5 2RN

Requires improvementpublished 15 September 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the service was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Requires improvement
Inspectors found unhygienic and poorly maintained areas, including parts of the kitchen, a bathroom and a person's room. People received medicines as prescribed, but some medicines records were incomplete and one refrigerated medicine was not securely stored or temperature monitored.
Effective?
Good
Staff assessed people's needs, provided suitable food and drink, supported access to healthcare and followed guidance for people with swallowing difficulties. Staff were trained and supported, and consent and best-interest decisions were handled in line with the law.
Caring?
Good
This question was not inspected during this focused inspection, so no separate rating was given.
Responsive?
Good
This question was not inspected during this focused inspection, so no separate rating was given.
Well-led?
Requires improvement
Managers had quality checks and a clear structure, but these checks did not identify problems with premises, infection control or medicines. Inspectors also found that concerns raised at the previous inspection had not been fully addressed.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, September 2023

Dimensions 27 Sampson Avenue was rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, effective care but serious problems with cleanliness, maintenance and oversight.

This was an unannounced focused inspection on 12 July 2023. One inspector spoke with a resident, staff, visiting healthcare professionals and relatives. Records about care, medicines, staffing, training, accidents and quality checks were also reviewed.

The home was rated Requires Improvement overall. Safe and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement, while Effective remained Good. Inspectors found unhygienic and poorly maintained areas, weaknesses in medicines records and quality checks that had not identified known problems.

There were also positive findings. Staff understood people's needs and risks, supported people with medicines and healthcare, and treated people kindly. The rating fell from Good at the previous inspection, published in 2018.

What inspectors praised

  • Staff understood risks

    Staff knew people's health and safety risks and followed person-centred risk assessments. Inspectors saw safe support for a person at risk of choking.

    “Staff knew people's needs and associated risks well.” from the report

  • Effective staff support

    Staff received induction, refresher training, supervision and appraisals. They said they felt supported in their roles.

    “Staff received appropriate support to perform their roles and to learn and develop new skills.” from the report

  • Healthcare and dietary support

    People had access to health checks and specialist support. Staff knew people's dietary needs and followed swallowing guidance.

    “People with swallowing difficulties had guidelines in place from the speech and language therapist, which we observed staff to follow during lunch.” from the report

  • Kind and respectful culture

    Inspectors found a positive atmosphere. Staff treated people with kindness and respect, and relatives gave positive feedback.

    “There was a positive atmosphere in the service where staff treated people kindly and with respect.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

  • Poor cleanliness and maintenance

    serious

    Several areas were unhygienic or not adequately maintained. Problems included dirty kitchen surfaces, water around a bathroom drain, fluids on a bedroom wall and unsafe storage of equipment.

    “We found several parts of the service were unhygienic and/or not adequately maintained.” from the report

  • Medicine records

    needs fixing

    People received their medicines as prescribed, but records lacked important information and had unexplained gaps. One person's insulin was kept in a refrigerator accessible to people, with no temperature monitoring.

    “Some MARs from the previous medicine cycle contained a few unexplained gaps, which meant it was unclear if people had received their medicines on those days.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What has been done to clean and repair the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom areas and outdoor storage identified in the report?
  2. 02How are you now checking that cleaning schedules are followed and that maintenance problems are dealt with promptly?
  3. 03How will you prevent gaps in medicines administration records and make sure records include allergies and other key information?
  4. 04Where is refrigerated insulin stored now, and how are refrigerator temperatures recorded?
  5. 05What action plan did you send to the CQC, and how can we see evidence that the improvements have been completed?

This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and the overall rating used the previous ratings for the questions not inspected. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 September 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Dimensions 27 Sampson Avenue

2 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.

  1. September 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Dimensions 27 Sampson Avenue →

  2. September 2018Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. November 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. April 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. July 2017

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 26 July 2017.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.

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