Clifton Court

Updated 16 June 2022

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:

Clifton 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 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:

Inspection activity commenced on 9 March 2022. This inspection was unannounced on the first day.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do 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 two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with seven members of staff including the director, registered manager, deputy manager, support staff and occupational therapists. We received feedback from four external professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and training. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found including training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 16 June 2022

About the service:

Clifton Court is a residential service for people with acquired brain injury. The service accommodates up to seven people. At the time of the inspection, six people were using the service. The home comprises seven self-contained flats each with their own bathroom and kitchenette, as well as a larger communal kitchen and dining room, a shared lounge and a therapy gym.

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

At this inspection we found overwhelming evidence that demonstrated people received outstanding caring, kind and positive support. This was due to excellent leadership from the registered provider and registered manager as well as a strong, well trained team of staff. Everyone we spoke with provided exceptional feedback about how caring, professional and supportive the staff were and so often went the extra mile to ensure people were happy and felt well cared for.

The atmosphere throughout Clifton Court was exceptionally positive, welcoming and homely. Feedback from people who used the service, their relatives and staff was consistently very positive and the management at the home exceeded people's expectations. People, relatives and professionals were also full of praise for staff. We saw people were very relaxed and confident in the company of staff throughout our visits.

People received a consistently high standard of care because staff and management put people first and at the heart of the service, while continuously looking for new ways to improve their care and quality of life. Care was personalised and met individual needs. Staff knew people very well, cared about them and understood their care and support needs as well as the risks people faced. Staff were motivated to support people to live full lives.

There was a very strong emphasis on the provision of activities that were meaningful and therapeutic to the people living in the home. People told us they were happy with how they spent their time. Staff told us how they believed that being fulfilled and focused promoted people's wellbeing.

People had support from safely recruited and appropriately trained staff. Staff also understood their role and responsibilities to protect people from abuse. Staff and the senior management team advocated for people to promote their safety and human rights.

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 received their medicines when they were needed and in ways that suited them. There were systems in place to check that medicines were administered correctly and safely.

The registered manager was very proactive in encouraging staff to look at how they could improve people's health and wellbeing and to look at innovative ways to do this. People were supported to maintain their health and told us they had access to healthcare any time they wished. People's nutritional and hydration needs were being individually met with bespoke menus for people.

People and staff were proud of the home and its facilities. The home was well equipped, and staff said that if ever the need for equipment was identified all they had to do was report this to the registered manager and it was provided. Staff understood the importance of infection control. The home was clean and well maintained throughout.

The service recorded and analysed accidents and near misses to understand what had happened, identify trends, and help prevent them happening again.

The service had a quality assurance system in place to enable the monitoring of the quality of care people received. There were numerous audits and checks carried out. Information from these was analysed and records showed where any issues or concerns had been identified, action had been taken to address these and this was continuously evaluated.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was outstanding (published 22 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.