Devonshire Court

Updated 26 September 2018

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.

The inspection took place on 13 August 2018 and was announced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, including what they do well and improvements they plan to make.

Before our inspection visit we also looked at other information we held about the service. This included previous notifications. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the service must inform us about. We also contacted the local authority commissioners of the service to find out their views about the care provided.

During our inspection visit we observed interaction between people, staff, and volunteers. We spoke with the registered manager, facilities manager, the staff trainer, six care staff, three people, five visitors and one visiting healthcare professional.

We observed the lunchtime experience for people, and the activities provided to people. We also observed medication administration. We looked at four care records, care and premises audits, team meeting minutes, resident meeting minutes, complaints records, medicine records, and plans for the future of the service.

Updated 26 September 2018

This inspection took place on 15 August 2018 and was unannounced.

Devonshire 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.

The service accommodates people in one adapted building. There are two floors. The first floor specialises in providing care to people who live with dementia.

The provider is The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution Care Company; and therefore, people who are masons, or who have close masonic connections are given admission priority. People without masonic connections can live in the home.

The service has a registered manager. 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 about how the service is run.

The registered manager and their team provided excellent leadership to staff; and had considerably improved the life experiences of people who lived at Devonshire Court.

The provider and management team had a long-term vision for the home which they were working extremely hard to achieve. They were working to excellence and expected high standards from their staff. The staff group were excited by the vision and plans for the home and worked with management to achieve this.

There were good staffing levels to meet the care needs of people who lived at the home. The care staff team were supported by a team of volunteers and activity workers to meet all of people’s health and social care needs. The range of staff available meant that people enjoyed a life with their social, and physical needs extremely well met.

The provider’s recruitment process, which involved people who lived at the home, reduced the risks of employing staff unsuitable to provide care.

The service provided a vast range of activities for people which suited their needs and abilities, and which people thoroughly enjoyed. People and their advocates were fully involved in discussing and reviewing their care needs.

People received care from a dedicated staff team who were kind, caring and compassionate, and who demonstrated they would go the extra mile for people when necessary. Visitors were very welcome at the home, and accommodation was available if visitors travelled from afar.

People who lived at the home were fully involved in the running of the home. They were part of the recruitment process, and their voice was heard and acted on because of regular resident meetings.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff understood the importance of treating people equally and respected each person’s human rights.

There was an extensive range of checks for different parts of the service to ensure people remained safe, and received a high-quality service. The management team was proactive in learning from mistakes to enhance future practice. Accidents or incidents which involved people were thoroughly analysed to determine whether further action was necessary or whether there were trends or patterns which needed further exploration.

The service provided excellent end of life care to people, and some staff had been accredited with the Gold Standard Framework, which aims to ensure people live their lives pain free, and the way they wanted to, until they die.

Medicines were managed safely, and people received good access to other healthcare services when required. Staff understood and acted on people’s identified risks to reduce the chances of harm to people’s health and well-being.

Staff received extremely good in-house and external training, and excellent support by management to support people’s health and social care needs.

People enjoyed the meals provided and the choices available to them. They had excellent meal time experiences. People were encouraged to eat and drink well and stay hydrated.

The premises and equipment were clean, well maintained, and robust checks were in place to ensure they remained so to keep people safe.