Apple Tree House Residential Care Home Limited

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

We carried out an assessment of this service to follow up on some concerns we had received. We looked at 12 quality statements. The assessment included a site visit on 3 June 2024. We found there were enough staff to ensure people’s safety and meet their needs. We observed positive, warm and respectful interactions between people using the service and staff. People were offered choices and staff respected people’s wishes. Care was delivered in line with people’s preferences. However, we found a breach of the legal regulation in relation to governance. Systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service were not operated effectively. A range of audits and governance systems had been put in place, but they had not been effective in addressing concerns found during this assessment. Concerns included shortfalls in staff training and supervision, poor record keeping to evidence compliance with the Mental Capacity Act, and inconsistent information about the management of risk. Opportunities to learn from incidents had not been maximised. There was an acting manager in place who was working to address the issues and was keen to make improvements. Staff felt supported and told us they would feel confident raising any concerns or issues. We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. The provider was broadly working in line with these principles. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

People's experience of this service

We received positive feedback from people and relatives. People liked the staff and one told us, “It feels like home, staff are kind and help”. People and relatives were happy with the care and told us they could raise concerns should they have any. Relatives said staff kept them updated with relevant information and involved other professionals if there were changes in people’s needs. People told us about activities they enjoyed taking part in and gave examples to show they led full lives and engaged in the community. People confirmed they could have visitors when they wanted. Where some people were unable to tell us verbally about their experiences, we observed they appeared relaxed and happy in the presence of staff, and their choices were understood and respected.