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CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Consensus Support Services

The Heathers

76 Rockingham Road, Kettering, NN16 9AA

Goodpublished 18 November 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff were suitably recruited, risks were assessed, medicines were stored securely and infection control practices were safe, although some medicines records needed more detail.
Effective?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
Caring?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
Responsive?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
Well-led?
Good
The home had a positive and open culture, effective checks and audits, and a clear management structure. This improved from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2023

The Heathers was rated Good; inspectors found people were safe and the home was well led, but some medicines records needed more detail.

This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 26 October 2023. One inspector spoke with two people, three staff members and managers. They also checked care plans, risk assessments and staff records.

The home was rated Good overall. Safe was rated Good, and well-led was rated Good. Inspectors found enough suitable staff, safe recruitment, appropriate risk assessments and safe infection control. People could receive visitors without restrictions.

Some medicines records did not contain enough detail about how medicines were given. The registered manager said this would be corrected immediately after the inspection. The home had improved since the previous inspection, when well-led was rated Requires Improvement.

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led. The other areas were not inspected during this visit, so their previous ratings were used when calculating the overall rating.

What inspectors praised

  • People felt safe

    People told inspectors they felt safe. Staff knew how to recognise and report abuse.

    “People told us they were safe. One person said, "Yes I feel safe here, no worries.” from the report

  • Risks were managed

    The home assessed risks linked to the environment, eating and drinking, and distressed behaviour. Staff took action to reduce identified risks.

    “The provider assessed risks to ensure people were safe. Staff took action to mitigate any identified risks.” from the report

  • Improved leadership

    Checks and audits had improved since the previous inspection and were now effective. Managers acted promptly when improvements were needed.

    “Improvements had been implemented and checks and audits in place were effective.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

  • Medicines records needed more detail

    needs fixing

    Some records did not fully describe the medicines administration process. The manager said extra detail, including body maps where needed, would be added immediately after the inspection.

    “Some records we looked at required some extra detail, to ensure they fully reflected the medicines administration process.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What extra detail has been added to the medicines records since the inspection?
  2. 02When are body maps used, and how do you check that they are completed correctly?
  3. 03How often are care plans, risk assessments and medicines records audited?
  4. 04What was the previous concern about care plan and risk assessment reviews, and how do your current checks prevent it happening again?
  5. 05How will you keep families informed if a medicine error or other incident occurs?

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; Effective, Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings were used for the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 November 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 The Heathers

4 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. November 2023Goodcurrent rating
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at The Heathers →

  2. November 2020Inspected but not rated
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

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

  3. November 2018Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. September 2016Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. December 2015Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. October 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. January 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. March 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. December 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  10. December 2011

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  11. January 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 21 January 2011.

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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