Summerdale Court Care Home

Updated 25 April 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by 4 inspectors, a nurse advisor and 2 Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service

Service and service type

Summerdale Court Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as single package under 1 contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. The inspection activity started on the 23 February 2023 and ended on the 3 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people using the service and 7 relatives. We spoke with 2 nurses, 4 care staff, the chef, the activities coordinator, the deputy manager, the human resources manager, the housekeeper, and the registered manager.

We reviewed 8 people’s care records including risk assessments,10 medicine records and 6 staff files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed a range of management records including staff training, supervision, quality audits, medicines, accidents/incidents, safeguarding and complaints.

Updated 25 April 2023

About the service

Summerdale Court is a residential care home providing personal care and nursing care for up to 60 people. At the time of our inspection there were 38 people using the service. The home has 2 floors, only 1 floor is being used, all residents are on the ground floor, divided into 2 sides.

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

This service has been in Special Measures since October 2022. This meant we found several breaches of regulations. At this inspection we have found the provider had made several improvements in a number of areas. The registered manager has put in place additional new systems, audits and regular meetings for staff, people and relatives to improve the overall service. People and relatives told us they could see a marked improvement in the home and their experiences of care was much better than it had been previously. The home is also going through a refurbishment which has improved the environment significantly.

Although a lot of work has been done to improve not only the environment but the quality of care, it has not been enough to raise the overall rating above requires improvement. We found a continued breach of regulations in relation to the safe management of medicines.

People's medicines were not always managed safely. We found some information about medicine risks was missing. Also, medicine fridge temperatures were not recorded correctly and staff administering medicine was not wearing their “Do not disturb apron”, this meant they had frequent interruptions whilst administering people medicine.

Staff were recruited safely however some gaps were found in staff files. We have made a recommendation about staff recruitment.

The home was clean and was undergoing a refurbishment. People told us they liked all the new changes; people's bedrooms had been newly decorated. People were protected from harm or abuse. Relatives visited the home on a regular basis.

People were supported by trained and confident staff. People told us they liked the food, care needs were assessed and met. People had full access to health care professionals. People told us they were given choices and staff knew them well. People were asked for their permission before staff provided care or support.

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 told us they really enjoyed the variety of activities; some people did not always want to take part. People and relatives knew how to make a complaint if needed. People told us staff knew them well and gave them choices.

People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring. People and relatives were involved in care planning and decision making. People's privacy and dignity were protected.

The service had a dedicated management team. People and relatives told us the managers were friendly, approachable and getting things done. Everyone we spoke with praised the refurbishment and how different the home looked. Staff told us they liked working at the home and felt well supported. The management team had made significant improvements to the home.

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 October 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 the provider remained in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 28 October 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to managing medicine safely at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report. We have made 2 recommendations 1 is about the management of some medicines and the other is about recruitment practices.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Summerdale Court Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.