Drayton Court

Updated 21 July 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 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

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience completed this inspection. 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

Drayton 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. Drayton 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The new manager was in the process of applying to become registered.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service such as Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 five people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the new manager, the service manager, the director of quality and compliance, a care co-ordinator and five care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and three people’s medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

Updated 21 July 2022

About the service

Drayton Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 45 people. The service provides support to older people and people with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 44 people using the service. Care is provided over three floors. Each floor has different themed décor with communal lounges, dining areas and a kitchenette.

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

Improvements continued to be needed within the provider’s governance systems to ensure people received high quality care. Although the provider had systems and processes to check the safety and quality of the service, oversight of some risks to people’s health and wellbeing was not always effective.

We found no evidence people had been harmed but some risks to people's health had not always been assessed or monitored. Where risks were identified, records were not always accurately updated to reflect changes.

Records did not provide assurance people received their medicines as prescribed. Where discrepancies in stock levels were identified, it was not always clear what action was taken to investigate the errors or ensure the person’s health was not adversely affected. Some people had medicines that could be given when required to reduce short term conditions such as anxiety or pain. Records were either not in place or did not contain enough information to support staff to know at what point to administer these medicines.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. However, there were particular times of day where staff could not provide timely, high quality care. The recruitment process continued to ensure staff were suitable for their roles by conducting relevant pre-employment checks.

People told us they felt protected from the risk of abuse and staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities. 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 home was clean, and staff followed good infection control processes. The home was facilitating visiting in line with government guidance.

A new manager had been recently employed and was committed to driving forward improvements at the home. People and staff spoke positively about the new manager. The provider recognised the importance of being open and honest when things went wrong. Learning from incidents was used to educate staff to prevent reoccurrence.

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 16 July 2019) and there was a breach of the 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 the provider remained in breach of regulations. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about risk management. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 Drayton Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.