Archived: Altham Court Care Home

Updated 1 December 2015

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 6 October 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was completed by an 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

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information which we held about the home and looked at notifications which we held about the organisation. Notifications are events which have happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about, and information that had been sent to us by other agencies.

During our inspection we observed care in the home and spoke with the registered manager, general manager and a nurse, two members of care staff, six relatives and nine people who used the service. We also looked at four people’s care plans and records of staff training, audits and medicines.

Updated 1 December 2015

This inspection took place on 6 October 2015 and was unannounced. Altham Court residential and nursing home provides care for older people who have mental and physical health needs. It provides accommodation for up to 48 people who require personal and nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were 44people living at the home.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations

On the day of our inspection we found that staff interacted well with people and people were cared for safely. People and their relatives told us that they felt safe and well cared for. Staff were able to tell us about how to keep people safe. The provider had systems and processes in place to keep people safe.

The provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA provides the legal framework to assess people’s capacity to make certain decisions, at a certain time. If the location is a care home the Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the DoLS, and to report on what we find.

We found that people’s health care needs were assessed and care planned and delivered to meet those needs. People had access to other healthcare professionals such as a dietician and GP and were supported to eat enough to keep them healthy. People had access to drinks and snacks during the day and had choices at mealtimes. Where people had special dietary requirements we saw that these were provided for.

There were not always sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and staff did not consistently respond in a timely manner to people. Staff were kind and sensitive to people when they were providing support and people had their privacy and dignity considered.

Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and were provided with training on a variety of subjects to ensure that they had the skills to meet people’s needs. The provider had a training plan in place however staff had not received regular supervision and appraisals.

We saw that staff obtained people’s consent before providing care to them. Activities and access to community facilities were provided on a limited basis.

Staff felt able to raise concerns and issues with management. Relatives were clear about the process for raising concerns and were confident that they would be listened to. The complaints process was on display however it was only available in written form so not everyone could access it.

A system was in place to monitor the quality of the service and ensure continuous improvement however some of the issues we found at inspection had not been identified by this system. Regular audits were carried out and action plans put in place to address any issues which were identified.

Accidents and incidents were recorded. The provider had informed us of incidents as required by law. Notifications are events which have happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about.