Avon Court

Updated 25 March 2023

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 completed by 2 inspectors and an assistant inspector.

Service and service type

Avon 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. Avon 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. 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 looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people and 10 relatives to gather their views about the care they received. 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 looked at 8 people’s care records. We checked recruitment, training and supervision records for staff and looked at a range of records about how the service was managed. We also spoke with the registered manager, area manager and 7 care and ancillary staff.

Updated 25 March 2023

About the service

Avon Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 48 people. The service supports older people living with dementia. People live over three floors in one purpose-built building. The service shares a café and communal activities area with Bourne House, which together forms Avonbourne Care Centre. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people using the service.

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

Relatives felt people were safe and cared for at Avon Court. We observed staff interacting with people in a friendly and respectful way. People appeared content and comfortable in the presence of staff.

Systems to record incidents and manage risks to people had been implemented effectively. Staff had recorded detailed information about incidents, which had been reviewed by the management team. Action had been taken to minimise the risk of repeated incidents.

People were supported to take any medicines they had been prescribed. The provider had worked to improve medicines management systems and had acted to address medicines errors.

There were enough staff available. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and how to meet them. New staff were thoroughly checked before starting work in the home and given a good induction.

There were good infection prevention and control procedures. Procedures had been reviewed and updated to reflect the latest guidance in relation to infectious diseases. Systems were in place to prevent visitors catching and spreading infections.

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.

The registered manager was aware of the need to notify us of certain important events. Records demonstrated these notifications had been submitted when necessary.

The registered manager worked well with people and their relatives to meet their needs. They had developed good relationships with health and social care professionals and community organisations.

There were effective management systems in place to monitor how the service was operating and plan any improvements that were needed. The registered manager had plans to develop the service, with a focus on engagement with people and their relatives and community involvement.

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 requires improvement (published 29 April 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 10 March 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and notification of incidents.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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