Acacia Court

Acacia Court is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 41 people. The service provides support to people aged over 65. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.

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

People's needs were assessed before they moved to Acacia Court. The provider worked together with healthcare professionals to ensure people's needs could be met. People were supported with nutrition and hydration. Staff were supported with training and supervision. However it was not always clear how training was being embedded in some areas of people's care, such as safeguarding. For example, some staff were unclear who to report to safeguarding concerns to at the local authority. We have made a recommendation about reviewing staff training and competencies.

People were safeguarded from the risk of harm and abuse and some staff understood their responsibility to keep people safe. During the inspection we raised a safeguarding alert following concerns raised by a relative. The provide took immediate action to investigate and address concerns. Medicines were managed safely. It was noted that at the time of inspection, the provider was moving to an electronic system of medication administration. People had regular risk assessments to protect them from potential harm. People were protected from the risks associated from the spread of infection. Staff were recruited safely.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; policies and systems were in place that supported this practice. We observed how care staff, kitchen staff and the activities coordinator worked together to ensure a choice-based dining experience.

Staff demonstrated they knew people well and understood the way people wanted to be cared for. Staff obtained people's consent before delivering care. Some relatives told us they were not always able to express their views about care that was provided. People's privacy, dignity and independence were promoted. Staff understood how to provide personalised care. We observed a number of person centred approaches to care, such as, ensuring the volume of the television was consensually agreed by people present.

Care plans and records were personalised and contained information about people's preferred method of communication. People and relatives knew how to complain, and the provider had a system to record concerns. We saw evidence that the provider responded to concerns and complaints and lessons learnt were used to improve the service. At the time of inspection, the area director and home manager responded constructively to concerns we raised on behalf of a relative.

Relatives generally, and staff mostly, spoke positively about the management of the service. However, it was noted that the recent period of transition of management had been challenging for some relatives and staff. Managers understood their roles and responsibilities. The provider had a system to obtain feedback from people and to audit the quality of the service in order to make improvements. The area director told us how this would be built upon over the coming months.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service under the previous provider was good published 01 March 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Follow up

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