10 and 11 November 2014
During a routine inspection
This unannounced inspection was carried out on 10 and 11 November 2014. The last inspection was completed on 3 December 2013; the service was compliant with all of the regulations that were inspected.
Alexandra court is registered to provide care, including nursing care, and accommodation for up to 84 older people who may have a dementia related condition. It has three floors that are connected by a passenger lift. It is close to local amenities and has good access to public transport.
A registered manager had been in place since the home opened in December 2012. 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.
People who lived at the home were safe. Care workers had been trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and knew what actions to take if they suspected abuse had occurred.
People had their health and social care need’s met my sufficient numbers of appropriately trained staff. Training was completed on an annual basis to ensure staff worked in line with best practice guidance. We saw evidence to confirm that staff had been recruited safely.
Care workers were supported effectively by the registered manager. One to one meetings were held periodically and handover meetings took place daily to ensure staff were aware of their responsibilities.
We observed care workers gaining people’s consent before care and treatment was provided. When people lacked the capacity to make informed decisions themselves, best interest meetings were held appropriately.
Care workers we spoke with could describe people’s care needs and how they preferred to be supported. We saw evidence that other healthcare professionals were contacted as required when people’s health deteriorated including GPs, speech and language therapists, Huntingdon’s disease nurses, social workers and the falls team.
Resident and relative meetings were held regularly and used as a forum for people to raise concerns, ask questions or make suggestions about the overall running of the service. When suggestions were made they were implemented by the registered manager.
An audit schedule was in place that helped drive the continuous improvement of the service. The registered manager took appropriate action when issues were highlighted through audits, ‘customer satisfaction’ surveys and complaints.