Background to this inspection
Updated
8 April 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Elizabeth Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
This first day of the inspection was unannounced.
What we did before 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. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with nine people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, care workers, housekeeping staff and the chef. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We also looked at the Healthwatch report. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
We spoke with four relatives after the inspection and emailed 15 health and social care professionals who visit the service and had responses from nine.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, minutes of meetings, staff rotas and quality assurance records.
Updated
8 April 2020
About the service
Elizabeth Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 24 people. There were 21 people living in the home at the time of the inspection. Most people needed support with personal care and some required assistance to move around the home safely. People were living with a range of health care needs. These included living with dementia, mental health and frailty linked to old age.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and were very comfortable at Elizabeth Court. One person said, “I am happy here, the staff are very nice, I have everything I need and I like the quizzes and arts and crafts.”
Staff had a good understanding of people’s support and care needs. Staff managed risks well and knew who to report any safeguarding concerns to. Lessons were learnt when things went wrong, and staff were supported to develop their knowledge and skills through regular training and supervision.
There were enough staff to provide the care people wanted and robust recruitment procedures made sure only suitable staff were employed at the home. Medicines were managed safely, and infection control procedures reduced the risk of infection.
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 were treated with kindness and care; their privacy and dignity were respected, and independence encouraged. Staff liaised with health and social care professionals as needed and they worked together to provide the care people wanted. A healthy diet was promoted, meals were based on people’s likes and dislikes and people had enough to eat and drink.
People and relatives were aware of the complaints procedure and said they had not needed to make a complaint.
The culture at the home was inclusive and centred on people, their views and wished. Feedback was consistently sought from people, relatives, staff and health and social care professionals and staff worked in partnership with other professionals and groups.
The quality assurance system was effective and assisted the provider and registered manager to identify areas where improvement was needed, and action had been taken to address these.
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 Good. (Published 1 September 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.