Newington Court

Updated 12 November 2020

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.

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

This inspection took place on 22 October 2020 and was announced. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 12 November 2020

The inspection was carried out on 6 and 11 April 2018. The inspection was unannounced.

Newington Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Newington Court provides accommodation, residential and nursing care for up to 58 older people. The main building has three floors and accommodates people who have nursing care on the ground floor and top floor. The middle floor has a separate 'Memory Lane Unit' for people who live with dementia and nursing care needs. There is a separate annex called Falcon Place which provides residential care. The home has a garden and courtyard areas available for all of the people. On the day of our inspection, there were 55 people living at the service. People had a variety of complex needs including people with mental health and physical health needs and people living with dementia. Some people had limited mobility and some people received care in bed.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. 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.

At the last inspection, the service was rated ‘Requires Improvement’ overall, with the domains of Safe and Responsive requiring improvement. We identified a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The breach was in relation to failing to provide care and treatment that met people’s needs and preferences. We also made three recommendations in relation to good practice. Namely, that the provider follows good practice guidance assesses and reviews the whole environment to ensure that it is suitable for all people living with dementia; that the provider and registered manager make further improvements to ensure that all staff had sufficient checks to ensure they were suitable to work with people who needed safeguarding from harm and that the registered manager and provider reassess and reviews practice in relation to maintaining confidentiality. We asked the provider to take action.

We received an action plan from the provider following the inspection, which detailed what action they had taken to address the issues.

At this inspection we found that the provider had made improvements to the service.

People gave us positive feedback about the service and told us they received safe, effective, caring, responsive care.

People’s safety had been appropriately assessed and monitored. Each person’s care plan contained individual risk assessments in which risks to their safety were identified.

The registered manager demonstrated that they had a good understanding of their role and responsibilities in relation to notifying CQC about important events such as injuries, safeguarding concerns and deaths. The registered manager had informed CQC about Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisations that had been approved.

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and supported people to make choices. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications had been made to the local authority by the registered manager.

Staff had a good understanding of what their roles and responsibilities were in preventing abuse. The safeguarding policy gave staff all of the information they needed to report safeguarding concerns to external agencies.

People’s care was person centred. Care plans detailed people’s important information such as their life history, personal history and informed staff of the care people required to meet their assessed needs.

Staff were cheerful, kind and patient in their approach and had a good rapport with people. The atmosphere in the home was calm and relaxed. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

Medicines had been well managed, stored securely and records showed that medicines had been administered as they had been prescribed.

People received medical assistance from healthcare professionals when they needed it. Staff knew people well and recognised when people were not acting in their usual manner.

Meals and mealtimes promoted people’s wellbeing, meal times were relaxed and people were given choices.

People were encouraged to take part in activities that they enjoyed. People were supported to be as independent as possible.

People were supported to maintain their relationships with people who mattered to them. Relatives and visitors were welcomed at the service at any reasonable time and were complimentary about the care their family member’s received.

People’s views and experiences were sought through surveys and through meetings. People were listened to. People and their relatives knew how to raise concerns and complaints.

The provider followed safe recruitment practice. Essential documentation was in place for employed staff.

There were suitable numbers of staff deployed on shift to meet people’s assessed needs.

Staff had attended training they needed, training was on going. Staff received supervision and said they were supported in their role.

There were quality assurance systems in place. The registered manager and provider carried out regular checks on the home. Action plans were put in place and completed quickly. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager.

The premises were well maintained, clean and tidy. The home smelled fresh. Decoration of the service followed good practice guidelines for supporting people who live with dementia. There were signs to direct people to different areas of the service such as to the dining area, lounge and garden area.