Archived: Girtrell Court

Updated 9 September 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 30 June 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was conducted by an adult social care inspector.

We spoke with eight people who were staying at the home. We also spoke with four relatives of people who lived at the home and a visiting health professional.

We spoke with eight members of staff who worked at the home including the registered manager.

We observed the care and support of people, medication administration, the lunchtime meal and people’s general care and support throughout our visit.

We looked at and case tracked care files for four people and staff files for four members of staff including their training and supervision records. We looked at a sample of medication administration records and a sample of the medication stock held. We looked at the administration records for the home including records of audits and those records relating to health and safety and a selection of the home’s policies and procedures.

We checked the records held by the CQC prior to our inspection.

Updated 9 September 2016

This inspection took place on 30 June 2016 and was unannounced. At the time of our inspection Girtrell Court offered respite and temporary care and accommodation for people. When we visited 18 people were staying at Girtrell Court, 14 on respite and 4 for a longer term. Girtrell Court is owned and operated by the local authority Wirral MBC.

The home had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

During our visit the manager explained to us that the home was due to close in November 2016. The manager explained that the staff team had been supplemented with the use of agency staff and this has been increasing due to the upcoming closure. A number of the agency staff had been working at Girtrell Court long term.

The building was in need of refurbishment and redecoration and had a clinical rather than homely feel to it. The environment of the building was clean. We found that one area of the kitchen needed cleaning and that kitchen cleaning records for nine days were missing. Checks on different aspects of health and safety and the servicing of equipment used by people and their staff were ongoing and up to date.

There was a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at Girtrell Court. People and their families told us they felt safe staying at Girtrell Court. We saw that appropriate risk assessments were in place and people had been supported with any health needs they had. Medication was administered safely. Staff had the appropriate training to ensure people were cared for in a safe manner.

People typically arrived to stay at the home on a Friday. On this day extra staff had been scheduled to work in order to gather relevant and up to date information about people’s medication and support needs. People’s care plans were reviewed at the start of each stay. We saw that the care plans were individualised and recorded people’s likes and preferences.

People told us they enjoyed the food provided and requested alternatives to the planned menu were made if the food was available. People’s dietary requirements were documented and catered for.

Staff told us they felt supported and were comfortable approaching the manager. Staff meetings had been held and supervision and staff awareness sessions had been held with the manager to keep staff up to date.

The manager kept records of accidents and incidents and had made the relevant referrals to health and social care professionals to ensure people were safe and well cared for.