Whitby Court Care Home

Updated 14 July 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 completed by 1 inspector and an Expert 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

Whitby Court Care 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. Whitby Court Care Home is a care home with nursing care. 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.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 care records, 4 staff files and records relating to the management of the service. We observed the medicines administration and management process including associated record keeping.

Updated 14 July 2023

About the service

Whitby Court Care Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to older people, some of whom were living with dementia. The home can accommodate up to 51 people. At the time of this inspection 46 people were using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe and well supported by caring staff. Staff followed clear policy and procedure to report any concerns for further investigation. Known risks for people had been assessed and were regularly reviewed with up-to-date information to help keep people safe.

Safe recruitment processes were followed to ensure suitable people were employed. Safe numbers of staff were on duty, and this was reviewed to ensure people’s changing needs were met.

Staff treated people with respect and upheld their privacy and dignity. People received their support from regular staff whom they knew well.

Staff received appropriate induction, training, and support to carry out their roles. People were supported to take their medicines safely as prescribed, and staff followed good infection, prevention, and control practices.

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 provided their consent to, and were involved with, planning their care and support. People's

preferences were recorded and wherever possible, staff supported people to maintain their independence. Staff had access to clear and concise care records which were up to date.

Staff were supported by an experienced registered manager who was passionate about providing people with the best care and support. The registered manager completed a range of audits and checks with provider oversight and input to ensure systems and processes remained effective and to identify any areas that could be improved.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 21 April 2022)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. The information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk, associated with a failure by some staff to maintain accurate and contemporaneous records and the management and administration of people’s medicines. This inspection examined those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Whitby Court Care 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.