Background to this inspection
Updated
1 July 2021
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 Care Act 2014.
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 undertaken by one inspector, a specialist nurse advisor and an expert by experience. A specialist advisor is a person with professional expertise in care and/or nursing. 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
Abbey Court is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. A manager was in post at the time of the inspection and had applied to register with the CQC.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
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 reviewed 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the provider, manager, senior care workers, care workers, administrator and the chef and maintenance staff. We also spoke with a visiting health professional.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at seven staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
1 July 2021
About the service
Abbey Court Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 59 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 88 people.
The home is split into four units with a nursing unit (Jasmine)and a residential unit (Sunflower) downstairs and two dementia units (Bluebell and Forget Me Not) upstairs.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received personalised care. There were enough experienced and qualified staff to safely meet people’s needs. Staff knew people well and were kind and considerate when delivering care.
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.
Processes were in place to safely manage risks associated with people’s care. Care plans and risk assessments were reflective of people’s needs and staff knew people well. Where people’s needs changed prompt action was taken to ensure their health and well-being were maintained.
People were protected from the risk of avoidable harm, and infection prevention and control procedures ensured as much as practicably possible they were protected from the risk of infectious diseases.
Medicines were administered safely, accidents and incidents were reported, and lessons learnt when things went wrong.
The manager and provider were open and transparent and systems and processes in place ensured people received quality care.
People, relatives and staff thought the service was well-led. They felt supported and able to raise any concerns which were taken seriously.
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 19 July 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns we received in relation to safe care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
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 Abbey Court Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.