Bentley Court Care Home

Bentley Court Care Home is a nursing home providing nursing and personal care for up to 77 people. At the time of the inspection 36 people were living there including younger and older people who may have a physical disability or people with dementia. The building is a purpose built three storey building with all care provided on the first two floors. Some parts of the building were not currently in use as the home was not fully occupied.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There had been continuous learning and improvement. Some improvements were still needed to ensure records were correctly completed and systems were fully effective; however, many improvements had been made since the last inspection. People, relatives and staff felt positive about the registered manager and provider and felt things had improved since the last inspection. People and staff had been given the opportunity to feedback about care. The registered manager was clear about their duty of candour. The registered manager and provider worked in partnership with other professionals.

Checks were made on the building to ensure it remained safe. Lessons had been learned since the last inspection as improvements had been made. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and planned for. If people’s health had changed, concerns were acted upon. People were protected from the risk of cross infection. People were supported to have visitors. Medicines were managed and administered safely. There were some omissions in medicines recording, but no one had come to harm as a result of this. There was some mixed feedback about staffing levels, however there were enough staff to support people. Staff were recruited safely. People were protected from abuse by staff who understood their safeguarding responsibilities.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were able to personalise their rooms. People had memory boxes available by their bedroom doors to help them identify their own room; these had not yet been filled. People were supported to access other health professionals and have their health needs monitored and concerns acted upon. People enjoyed the food, had choices and had enough to eat and drink to remain healthy. Staff received training so they could support people effectively.

People were treated with kindness and people liked staff. People had choices and were able to be involved in their own care and their choices were respected. People were supported in line with their cultural preferences. People were supported to be independent where possible.

People were supported by staff who knew them, and they had personalised care plans in place. People had access to activities of their choice and there were further plans to develop this area. People and relatives felt able to complain if needed. People had been given the opportunity to discuss their end of life wishes, if they chose to. People were able to access information or communicate in a way that suited them.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 28 April 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations, although some further improvements were needed in well-led.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

About the service

Bentley Court Care Home is a nursing home providing nursing and personal care for up to 77 people. At the time of the inspection 35 people were living there including people living with dementia. The building is a purpose built three storey building with all care provided on the first two floors.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Governance systems were not robust or effective and this impacted on the quality of the health, safety and care provided to people.

People could not be assured that effective infection control measures were in place to prevent the spread of infection.

People could not be assured that staff were recruited in a way that ensured that they were fit and proper persons to work with vulnerable adults.

People could not be assured that a safe environment was maintained.

People could not be assured that medicines were stored safely or in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

People could not be assured that health professionals would be consulted in a timely manner if their needs changed.

Although people had plans for how their care should be provided, improvements were required to ensure they were person centred.

People were not always involved in making decisions about their care.

Staff were fully trained to support the needs of people.

Accidents and incidents were investigated, and measures were taken to prevent re-occurrences.

People were supported to maintain contact with their friends and families. There were opportunities for social stimulation. People felt their concerns and complaints would be listened to and responded to. People had plans relating to end of life care decisions where required.

People were cared for by staff who were kind and caring, and people were treated with dignity and respect. People were supported to maintain their independence.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 July 21 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns raised to us about the safe storage of medicines. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures.

This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.