Meadow's Court

Updated 14 November 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

This inspection was undertaken by 2 inspectors and 1 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.

Service and service type

Meadow's 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. Meadow's 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 inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided and met with a visiting social care professional. We observed interactions and support between people and staff in communal areas. We also spoke with 12 staff members including the registered manager, operations manager, the provider, deputy manager and care staff. We reviewed 6 people's care plans and records and a range of medicine records. We also reviewed 3 staff recruitment files and records relating to the management of the service, such as meetings, audits, health and safety checks, policies and procedures and staff training records.

Updated 14 November 2023

About the service

Meadow's Court is a purpose built home, and registered to provide personal care and support for up to 60 adults with physical or age-related care needs. At the time of the inspection the home was supporting 48 people, some of whom were living with dementia.

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

Although we found improvements to the overall management of medicines, further improvements were needed to ensure people received their time critical medicines as prescribed. Quality systems were not always effective in identifying issues relating to the management of time critical medicines, risk assessments and mental capacity assessments.

Overall, 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. However, mental capacity assessments required further development to ensure these were decision specific and provided clear evidence as to when best interests should be followed and who should be involved. We have made a recommendation around this.

Staff were trained to recognise potential risks and signs of abuse. Staffing levels were safe. Staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately when supporting people and infection prevention and control processes were in place.

Staff and people told us there was a positive culture in the home and everyone spoke positively of the registered manager. People and staff were engaged in the running of the home, and people benefited from the home's partnership working with external agencies.

The provider and registered manager were responsive to concerns raised at the time of the inspection. They made some immediate improvements and had plans in place for further improvements.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 22 April 2023) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 but the provider remained in breach of a regulation. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 26 January 2023 and 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 governance.

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 remained requires improvement. 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 Meadow's Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified a breach of regulation in relation to medicines at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We have made a recommendation that the provider consider current guidance to ensure they were working within the principles of the MCA.

Follow up

We will request an action plan and meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.