Archived: Monmouth Court Care Home

Updated 9 June 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.

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 23 and 25 April 2018 and was undertaken by one inspector and an expert by experience on both days. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we had received about the service such as notifications. This is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders for example the local authority and members of the public.

We spoke with 13 people who used the service and 12 relatives. We observed the interaction between people who used the service and the staff throughout our inspection.

We looked at records in relation to six people’s care. We spoke with the registered manager and 10 members of staff, including the resident experience manager, unit managers, nursing, care, activities, domestic, food servers, the receptionist and the chef. We also spoke with a visiting health professional. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, three recruitment files, training, and systems for monitoring the quality of the service.

Updated 9 June 2018

Monmouth Court Care Home 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. This service provides nursing care. Monmouth Court Care Home accommodates up to 153 adults, the majority being older people, some living with dementia. The service had a main office building where the registered manager, resident experience manager, receptionist, kitchen, hairdresser and laundry were based. There were additional units on site, 20 people lived in each of the open three units, Cilgarren, Powys and Harlech. Harlech provided care to people living with dementia. Some people living with dementia also lived in Cilgarren and Powys.

There were 60 people living in the service when we inspected on 23 and 25 April 2018. This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection.

This service had previously been owned by another provider, it was registered under the current provider in January 2017. This was the service’s first inspection under the new provider.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

There were systems in place to provide people with a safe service. Staff were trained and understood how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people were assessed and staff were provided with guidance about how to minimise risks. The numbers of staff required to meet people’s needs were calculated and staff recruitment processes were robust. Medicines were managed safely. There were infection control systems in place to reduce the risk of cross contamination. Where incidents had occurred the service learned from them and used them to drive improvement.

Staff were trained and supported to meet people’s needs effectively. People had access to health professionals when needed. People’s nutritional needs were assessed and met. Staff worked with other professionals involved in people’s care to provide people with an effective and consistent service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The environment was appropriate for people using the service.

People were treated with care and compassion by the staff. People’s privacy and independence was promoted and respected. People were listened to and their views about how they wished to be cared for were respected.

People’s care was assessed, planned for and met. Care records guided staff in how people’s preferences and needs were met. People had access to social activities to reduce the risks of isolation and boredom. People’s choices were documented about how they wanted to be cared for at the end of their life. There was a complaints procedure in place and people’s complaints were addressed and used to improve the service.

The quality assurance systems helped the provider and the registered manager to independently identify and address shortfalls in the service. As a result the service continued to improve.

The service had systems in place to monitor and improve the service provided to people.