About the service:

The Old Vicarage is a residential care home registered to provide care for up to 41 older people who require personal care. Some of the people were living with dementia. The home does not provide nursing care. At the time of inspection there were 36 people living in the home.

People’s experience of using this service:

People did not always have their rights protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). MCA assessments were not carried out to each individual decision. Consent was not always sought from those who had the legal authority to do so. We told the registered manager and they worked to correct this during the inspection.

The home was displaying the ‘outstanding’ rating from the previous provider in three places at the home’s entrance. We told the registered manager to remove this as it may be misleading to the public. The registered manager arranged for this to be removed during the inspection.

People told us they felt safe and were happy living at The Old Vicarage Care Home. The staff demonstrated a good understanding of how to meet people’s individual needs. People’s outcomes were known, and staff worked with people to help achieve these. People were supported and encouraged to maintain their independence and live their lives as fully as possible.

People were supported to maintain contact with those important to them including friends, family and other people living at the home. Staff understood the importance of these contacts for people’s health and well-being. Staff and people were observed enjoying warm and mutually beneficial interactions. Staff knew people well and what made them individuals.

The management of the home were respected. Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and were supported to reflect on their practice and pursue learning opportunities. The staff team worked and got on well together demonstrating team work and flexibility.

Quality and safety checks helped ensure people were safe and protected from harm. This meant the home could continually improve. Audits helped identify areas for improvement and this learning was shared with staff.

The service met the characteristics of good in all areas; more information is in the full report

Why we inspected:

This was the first scheduled comprehensive inspection of this service.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the home until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.