Eldra Court

Updated 14 April 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 23 March 2021 and was announced.

Updated 14 April 2021

About the service

Eldra Court is a residential care home providing personal care and support to seven people with learning disabilities. The service is arranged within one adapted building with six people living within the main house and one person in a self-contained flat but still attached to the main home.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to seven people. Seven people were using the service. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People said they enjoyed living at Eldra Court. People felt comfortable and secure in their environment. People’s bedrooms were highly personalised, and people valued their own space. The communal areas were bright and cheerful. They had recently been decorated and people had helped choose the décor and shopped for new furniture and furnishings.

Staff were skilled and knowledgeable about people’s needs, wishes and preferred routines. People were at the heart of the service. It was clear from discussions with staff and the registered manager, any improvement was always made by ensuring people had a say.. This included the recruitment of new staff. Recently people had been included in the interview process.

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. Seclusion was not used as a method of calming. Some people had positive support plans with details of how staff could best support them when their behaviour was a risk to themselves or others.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. This was evident in the person-centred plans. People’s diversity was celebrated, and individuals were enabled to have full and interesting lives. People’s relatives confirmed this. A relative said said “They have a better social life than me. They are always out and about. When (name of person) comes here, they are soon wanting to go back to their friends and their own home.”

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People were protected because the service had robust recruitment processes. They ensured staff had training in understanding abuse and risk assessing to keep people safe.

People were supported to have a balanced diet, enjoy exercise and keep healthy. Staff worked in conjunction with other healthcare professionals to achieve good health outcomes for people.

Staff were skilled at understanding people’s communication needs and this helped people to make their views known by various ways.

There were sufficient staff with the right skills and support to ensure people’s needs were met safely and effectively.

There were quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.

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 Good (Repot published 17 January 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.