- Care home
Prema Court
Report from 2 May 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
The assessment began on 15 May and ended on 11 June 2024. Prema Court is a care home. It is registered to provide personal and nursing care and the treatment of disease, disorder or injury for up to 44 people living with mental health illness. At the time of our assessment, there were 36 people living at the service. We received concerns about the safety and presentation of people using this service, the meals provided, and the buildings not being suitably maintained. As a result of this, a decision to assess the service was made. We reviewed all quality statements as part of this assessment. We identified 3 breaches of regulations with regard to the premises safety and maintenance, supporting people to maintain and improve their mental health and the governance of the service. Risks assessments were not regularly reviewed. Some staff refresher training was out of date. People received their medicines as prescribed, however the systems in place did not enable thorough stock checks to be completed. Senior staff used the recovery star to support people with their mental health. However, the team leader and care staff were not aware of this model. A new chef had recently been employed resulting in improvements in the meals and snacks available. There was a lack of activities for people to be engaged in. Staff did not have much time to interact with people as they were task orientated. We observed positive and patient interactions between people and care staff. Governance systems were not used effectively to identify areas for improvement. Issues with the buildings maintenance and décor had not been addressed. Staff felt supported by the registered manager, but did not feel the head office were always supportive of the service. Immediately following the assessment visit we requested action was taken and monthly updates provided for the building improvements and governance audits. We also liaised with the local authority who had a Service Improvement Plan in place.
People's experience of this service
Opportunities for us to speak with people were limited. This was because only 5 people received the regulatory activity of nursing or personal care or the treatment of disease, disorder or injury. Most other people needed a lot of prompting and encouragement to complete everyday tasks. Not everyone wanted to speak with us. We were only able to speak with 2 relatives about the support their relatives received at Prema Court. The people we did speak with gave us mixed feedback. Some people had settled, and their mental health and health were stable. Others didn’t think they received the support they needed. We observed positive relationships between people and the staff team, but people had to wait at times for staff to be available before they could go out. Shortfalls in support for people’s mental health, record keeping, and systems of oversight meant that people were placed at the risk of avoidable harm.