Three Corners

Updated 26 April 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector on 22 and 23 March 2018 and the first day was unannounced.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed previous inspection reports and other information we had received about the service, including notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send us. We contacted the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams to obtain their views about the service. We also spoke with three healthcare professionals visiting the home. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced living at Three Corners.

We spent time observing care and support in the communal areas. We observed how staff interacted with people who used the service. We spoke with a range of people about the home. This included 10 people who lived at the home, five relatives, the provider, registered manager, company secretary, office assistant, support manager, three registered nurses, two care staff, the cook, laundry assistant, housekeeper and a work placement student.

We looked at care records of six people who lived at the home and training and recruitment records of three staff members. We also looked at records relating to the management of the home. In addition we checked the building to ensure it was clean, hygienic and a safe place for people to live.

Updated 26 April 2018

Three Corners is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and personal care as a single package under a contractual agreement with the local authority, health authority or the individual, if privately funded. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Three Corners accommodates a maximum of 46 older people, including people who live with dementia or a dementia related condition, in one adapted building in its own grounds. At the time of our inspection, 37 people were living at the home.

At the last inspection on 28 and 29 October 2015, the service was rated 'Good' overall with a requires improvement in the key question, responsive. At this inspection, we found the service remained 'Good' overall and ‘Good’ in all key questions.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were observed to be treated with kindness and compassion by all the staff who valued them. The staff, had worked for the company for some time and built strong relationships with people who lived there. Staff respected people's privacy and treated people with dignity and respect. People, or their representatives, were involved in decisions about the care and support people received.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who lived at the home from the risk of abuse.

Recruitment checks were carried out to ensure suitable people were employed to work at the home. Our observations and discussions with staff and people confirmed sufficient staff were on duty.

People continued to receive care from staff who had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. All staff had completed a range of training and new staff completed an induction. Staff were supported with regular supervision and appraisal.

Risk assessments had been put in place and were individual to the person. This was to minimise potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care and support. Care records were person centred and held details on how people liked their needs to be met; taking into account people's preferences and wishes. Information recorded included people's previous medical and social history and people's cultural, religious and spiritual needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and consent to care was sought as much as possible. We reviewed information in relation to capacity assessments and processes which needed to be in place to make decisions in a person's best interest. We made a recommendation for improvement in ensuring that people have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff understand how to assess their capacity to do this.

People's health was monitored by the staff and they had access to a variety of healthcare professionals. This helped ensure people's healthcare needs were met.

The home continued to be well led. People lived in a home where the provider's values and vision were embedded into the service, staff and culture. People, relatives and staff told us the provider and registered manager were very approachable and made themselves available.

People lived in a comfortable clean home which had been designed and adapted to meet their needs. The home was monitored by the provider to help ensure its ongoing quality and safety. The provider's governance framework, helped monitor the management and leadership of the service, as well as the ongoing quality and safety of the care people were receiving.