Allington Court Care Home

Allington Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 41 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

The management team completed risk assessments associated to people’s risks, however these were not always detailed and, in some cases, where risk were present staff were not aware of these.

The provider collated information in relation to incidents and accidents. Although the management team had recently analysed this and started to implement actions to try and mitigate the risk this had not been recognised sooner and other contributing factors was not considered to reduce the risk, such as people not having their walking aids present or having call bells to call for assistance.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. We recommend the provider reviews the use of the use of potential restrictive practices such as, call bells and bed sensors across the service to ensure these are appropriately used and regular reviews are completed

People received medicines when they needed it. The provider operated safe recruitment processes.

Managers completed quality audits which covered all aspects of care, and filtered through to an action plan, the management team had highlighted some of the areas we identified for improvements, However, some of these audits did not identify failings in the quality of care.

The management team had started taking actions on the information found at the inspection. In addition, they had put additional resources in the service to drive improvements.

Relatives felt their family members were being supported well and the management team were responsive.

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 was Good (published 8 April 2021)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safety relating to intelligence received about the home. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to management of risks for people and ensuring people are supported in the least restrictive way. Effective governance systems were not operated to identify where improvements were required. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow Up

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

Allington Court Care Home provides accommodation for up to 44 older people, including people living with dementia. On the day of the inspection there were 35 people using the service.

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

People's individual mobility needs were assessed and appropriate support provided. Staff received training relevant to their roles and their competencies to support people safely were monitored.

Any accidents or incidents in the home were managed appropriately and external bodies notified as required.

Staff wore personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with current guidance and an enhanced cleaning schedule was in place and monitored.

Visits were being supported in line with current guidance and staff also supported people to have video calls and face time with family and friends.

We were assured the service were following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.

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 was good (published 05 June 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about how people’s mobility needs were supported. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains good.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

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 until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Allington Court Care Home provides accommodation for up to 44 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 31 people living at the home.

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

People who lived at Allington Court Care Home received care from a staff team who were all caring about delivering an individual based service. Staff knew each person well. People’s views were respected, and they were involved in everything that happened in the service.

People were happy and relatives trusted the staff team to look after their family members. One relative we spoke with told us, “We are very happy with the care, the staff are lovely, they know everybody’s name. Staff are caring and you can see that they care about the residents, the way that they are talking to the people that are here and all staff are approachable.”

Staff understood the risks to people and the measures in place to keep them safe. Systems were in place to manage people's medicines safely and to reduce the risks associated with the spread of infections.

Sufficient numbers of staff were employed to meet people's needs. Staff received training which gave them the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their roles and meet people’s needs.

Staff delivered care and support that was personalised. Staff were kind, caring and motivated. People, their relatives and external professionals were complimentary about the care provided. Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and independence and encouraged people to lead their life in the way they wanted to.

A health care professional commented, “The team are always organised, punctual in their attendance of rounds and the nurse conducting the rounds has a good knowledge of the clients and presents client needs professionally."

People were supported to maintain their health. Staff made referrals to health professionals when required. Staff were kind and caring and had developed good relationships with people using the service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control over 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 had access to food and drink based on their individual choice and preferences. People had access to a range of diverse activities that reflected their specific needs and interests.

Care plans were in place which guided staff to provide support that met people's needs which were in line with their preferences.

Systems in place ensured that people's risks were well managed, and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service, where people and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on any concerns raised to make improvements to people's care. A relative told us, “They are quite approachable. If I had any complaints I would speak to (name), who is always in the office but we have not had to make any to date though.”

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 was good (published 5 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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

Allington Court Care Home provides accommodation for up to 44 older people, including people living with dementia. The home is registered to provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection there were 39 people living there.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

People felt safe and staff knew how to work safely. They knew how to recognise and report any concerns. Individual risks were assessed and well managed which included reviewing any accidents to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.

People were supported by enough staff who were recruited safely. The staff team was trained and supported in their role. There had been some issues with medicines but these had been identified and there was a plan in place to address them. There was regular and appropriate contact with health and social care professionals.

The staff team worked in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and ensured people were encouraged to make choices. People enjoyed a varied diet and were supported with eating or drinking as needed.

People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff spoke to people with kindness and were attentive. People, or their relatives if more appropriate, were involved in the planning of their care. Where needed, advocates also supported people. Confidentiality was promoted.

People received care that met their needs and their care plans were detailed and gave staff clear guidance.

There had been no recent complaints but relatives told us they were confident to raise one if needed. There was a provision of activities that promoted people’s wellbeing.

The management and staff team were committed to developing their knowledge and working with other agencies to improve the lives of the people they supported. Feedback about the leadership and management of the home was all positive. The inspection history for the service had been consistently positive. There were several effective quality assurance systems in place to identify and address any shortfalls. The registered manager was dedicated to promote a positive culture in the home.

There was a strong emphasis on a personalised and caring approach towards all the people using the service from staff and the registered manager. They cared for people in a holistic way rather than viewing their care needs in isolation.

The registered manager put a strong emphasis on continually striving to improve the services they provided to people. They promoted and regularly implemented innovative systems in order to provide a high-quality service

We found that the home was meeting the standards we had inspected. People's privacy and dignity were respected. They received care and treatment that met their needs. There was a system for the safe management and administration of medicines and staff had been provided with relevant training and regular supervision so that they were competent in their roles. There was a system to assess and monitor the quaility of service. People's and their relatives' views had been sought, listened to and acted on.

We were unable to speak directly with some people who used the service so observation was significant in gaining an understanding of how well people were supported and cared for.

We noted that interactions between staff and people using the service were positive and people were generally involved in tasks.

People and their relatives were included in the care planning process and relatives were kept informed of any changes.

We saw that people were given a choice of foods and where necessary, people were supported to eat their meals choice their meals.

There was a system in place which safeguarded people from abuse and there were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service. This was because some people had complex needs, which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences.

The people we spoke with said that they were happy with the care and support they received. One person said that they 'enjoyed the breakfast' provided and another said the 'staff were good and hard working'.