The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home

Updated 18 August 2022

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience made calls to people and their families. 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

The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 15 July 2022 and ended on 21 July 2022. We visited the service on 19 July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who use the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight staff including the current manager, the deputy manager, a registered manager from another service and five care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to management of the service. We also received information from three health professionals who visited the service.

Updated 18 August 2022

About the service

The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal care and support for up to 36 people. The service provides support to people with dementia, older people and people with a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 33 people using the service.

The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home accommodates 36 people in one adapted building split into two areas, each of which has separate adapted facilities.

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

The service did not have a registered manager in place. A manager had been recruited, however, had not yet submitted their application to the Care Quality Commission to register.

The service requires some minor repairs and decorating; however, the provider was very responsive to this and produced action plans and time frames when the work would commence. The service and staff were clear about their responsibilities when incidents occur and understood how to raise concerns.

Some recording issues regarding medication were identified during the inspection. The manager immediately rectified this by implementing further daily audits.

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.

The service has a positive culture that is person centred, open and empowering and delivers compassionate care. Managers and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and had an understanding of the risks and issues facing the service.

The service has an effective governance system in place. Information from governance meetings and action plans support to drive improvement and improve outcomes for people.

The service involves people, their families in a meaningful way. It engages and involves staff and ensures their views are acted on to shape the culture of the service.

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 requires improvement (published 16 April 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. 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.

Why we inspected

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 carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 19 July 2022. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and well led.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Old School House and Courtyard Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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