Mill House
Consett, DH8
Residential
Rated 3 years agocare home
CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by CareTech Community Services
River View
4 Shotley Grove Road, Shotley Bridge, Consett, DH8 8SF
Goodpublished 23 December 2023, 2 years ago
Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.
The five questions inspectors ask
- Safe?
- Good
- People had enough staff support, staff understood their risks, and medicines were received, stored and administered safely. Inspectors found some gaps in medicine and incident records, and the manager agreed to improve the audit process.
- Effective?
- Requires improvement
- Support, training, health care and transitions were generally effective. However, records for one person did not show that best-interest decisions and restrictions had been reviewed properly.
- Caring?
- Good
- No separate Caring rating was given in this inspection report. Inspectors observed positive engagement between residents and staff, and described the care as person-centred.
- Responsive?
- Good
- No separate Responsive rating was given in this inspection report. The report says the home supported people to access the community and maintain relationships, but relatives gave mixed feedback about communication.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The manager had clear oversight and staff described the management team as available and supportive. Audit systems needed strengthening so that records and risks were checked more consistently.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, December 2023
Rated Good overall; inspectors found safe, person-centred support, but the Effective rating requires improvement because some best-interest decisions and records were not complete.
This was an unannounced inspection. The inspector visited the home, observed staff and residents, spoke with residents, staff, relatives and a professional, and checked care records, medicines, recruitment files, training and management records.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe and Well-led were rated Good. Residents had enough staff support, including to use the community, and staff understood their needs. Medicines were generally handled safely, and care was described as person-centred.
Effective was rated Requires Improvement. Records for one person did not show that decisions or restrictions made in their best interests had been reviewed properly. The report also found that audits did not always identify problems with medicine and incident records.
The overall rating stayed Good, the same as the previous rating published in 2018. The CQC made recommendations about following the Mental Capacity Act and strengthening audits.
What inspectors praised
Enough staff support
There were sufficient staff to support residents safely, including with community activities. Staff were trained and understood residents' needs.
“People received flexible support and there were sufficient numbers of staff available.” from the report
Safe medicines support
Medicines were generally received, stored, given and disposed of safely. Staff handling medicines had training and competency checks.
“Medicines were received, stored, administered and disposed of safely.” from the report
Person-centred care
Care records reflected residents' goals and outcomes, and staff supported people with communication, daily living skills and activities.
“Right Care: Care and support was person centred, and records reflected people's goals and outcomes.” from the report
Supportive staff and leadership
Residents appeared happy with staff. Staff said they felt supported by the manager and had relevant training and regular supervision.
“People and staff described the management team as always available and supportive.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Best-interest decisions
needs fixingFor one person, records did not show that decisions or restrictions made in their best interests had been reviewed properly or that the right people had been involved.
“Records for one person did not evidence that any decisions/restrictions made in their best interests had been reviewed in line with the MCA and the appropriate individuals had been involved.” from the report
Audits did not always find problems
needs fixingAudits missed a medicine record gap and other discrepancies found by inspectors. Incident records did not always show how risks were reduced or lessons learned.
“We discussed some differences in audits to our findings around a small number of medicine records and incident records” from the report
Mixed communication feedback
minorRelatives gave mixed feedback about communication. The manager said action would be taken.
“We received mixed feedback from relatives about communication.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01What has changed since the inspection to make sure best-interest decisions and restrictions are reviewed and recorded properly?
- 02How do you now check medicine administration records and make sure any gaps are found quickly?
- 03How are incidents, including incidents involving behaviour, recorded and reviewed so that risks are reduced and lessons are learned?
- 04How will you involve residents and their representatives consistently when agreeing care goals and outcomes?
- 05What action have you taken to improve communication with relatives?
This inspection covered Safe, Effective and Well-led; no separate ratings were given for Caring or Responsive. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 December 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 River View
3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- December 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 9 May 2012.
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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