Summer Court

Updated 26 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 2 inspectors on the first day, and 1 inspector on the second day.

Service and service type

Summer Court 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. Summer Court is a care home without 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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager was in post and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and local safeguarding team. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who were living at the home, and 3 peoples relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the manager, an area manager for the organisation, care, activity, and kitchen staff.

We looked around the environment to review the facilities available for people and the cleanliness of the home.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment, and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 26 July 2023

About the service

Summer Court is a residential care home providing regulated activity accommodation and personal care to up to 37 people. The service provides support to older people and people who are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people using the service.

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

The provider, management team and staff had worked hard to make improvements since the last inspection to people’s care, support and risk management, infection control practices, staffing levels, training, and to the governance systems at the home.

People's needs were assessed, monitored and reviewed. Care plans and risk assessments had been improved upon and were regularly reviewed to ensure these provided staff with accurate guidance on how to reduce risk to people. Accidents and incidents were documented, investigated and reviewed to identify any patterns and trends.

People were cared for safely and protected from the risk of abuse. People were supported with their medicines and good infection control practices were now in place.

Areas of the environment had been refurbished to ensure the home was suitably adapted, clean, and designed to meet people's needs.

There were enough suitably trained staff to meet people's needs. Additional staff had been recruited to support people to spend time in the way they preferred and doing things they enjoyed.

Improvements had been made in the monitoring of people’s nutrition and hydration, when required, and in the planning and delivery of people’s care; in particular their support to maintain personal hygiene. People were supported to promptly access health care services when needed.

The provider had strengthened governance arrangements for routine service monitoring and oversight, to ensure the quality and safety of people's care.

The management team were committed to driving continuous improvements and embedding an open and learning culture in the service. Regular meetings took place with people and staff. Staff were supported through team meetings, one to one supervisions and checks of competency.

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.

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 inadequate (published 3 March 2023). CQC served a Warning Notice to the provider due to the lack of good governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 3 March 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good. 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 Summer Court 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.