Netley Court

Updated 1 September 2022

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 carried out by two inspectors, one of who was a pharmacist specialist, 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

Netley 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. Netley 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager had just submitted their notice to leave the position.

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 professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 11 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including care staff, an activities officer and the registered manager. We reviewed seven people's care files and four staff personnel files, including information about staff training and supervision records. We looked at the service's medication practices and information relating to the service's quality assurance arrangements. We spoke with eight relatives of people living at Netley Court following the inspection and received feedback from 15 staff members in response to a brief questionnaire we sent them.

Updated 1 September 2022

About the service

Netley Court is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 70 people. The service provides support to older people, people with physical disabilities or sensory impairments and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 51 people using the service. Netley Court is a three floor, purpose-built care home. Specialist dementia care was provided on the upper floor; however, this was being refurbished when we inspected and residents who usually resided there had been moved to the other two floors.

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

People and their relatives believed the service was safe and staff participated in regular training to maintain skills and knowledge in areas such as safeguarding. Risks were assessed and equipment in the premises was checked and serviced as required. Recruitment was safely completed. Staff members told us they believed there were not always sufficient staff deployed to meet peoples’ needs, however, a dependency tool used by the provider showed staffing in line with recent calculations. Medicines were safely stored and administered. The premises were clean and we were assured the provider had effective IPC 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 and relatives were positive about the care received from staff. Staff members, however, felt they had insufficient time to spend with people or to read information and care plans. Staff were respectful in their interactions with people and supported them to make decisions about care. Staff were discreet when approaching people to support them with their care and spoke kindly about people.

The management team and senior managers had strived to develop a positive culture within the staff team but had not been successful. Staff did not feel fully supported by the management team and felt they were not available to them. People were also not very familiar with the management team. People, relatives and staff were engaged through questionnaires and meetings. The provider had forged positive relationships with health and social care professionals they worked with.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Outstanding (published 26 March 2020).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. 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 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 outstanding to good based on the findings of this inspection.

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