Castlemead Court Care Home

Updated 30 October 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The service had been identified for use by the Local Authority as a designated care setting in response to the Winter Plan for people discharged from hospital with a positive Covid-19 status. This inspection was to ensure that the service was compliant with infection control and prevention measures. This inspection took place on 21 October 2020 and was announced.

Updated 30 October 2020

About the service

Castlemead Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to people in a purpose-built building. At the time of inspection 77 people were using the service. The service can accommodate up to 79 people on three floors. Each floor caters for people who have differing primary needs, for example, nursing care, residential care or people living with dementia.

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

The management team and staff had made a range of sustained improvements since the last inspection. An effective action plan had been implemented and followed through, supported at all levels of the service. People received good care. The management team were keen to promote new ideas and ways of working to support people achieve good outcomes.

People had a range of care plans in place to inform staff of their care and support needs. There were some inconsistencies within these, however, we found no negative impact upon people or the care they received. Staff had good knowledge of people and their needs.

We have made a recommendation about care and support plans in the service.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse. Processes were in place to support the safeguarding of people. People’s risks were assessed at regular intervals or as their needs changed.

Staff were employed using safe recruitment practices. There were consistently enough staff to meet people’s care needs. People’s medicines were managed in a safe way and good infection control practices were followed. Robust processes were in place to learn lessons and share learnings when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed in detail, including using evidence-based tools, prior to moving into the service and reviewed on a regular basis or as needs changed. Staff received training for their roles including specialist training to meet people’s complex needs. Staff had effective and proactive working relationships with other health professionals to ensure people accessed healthcare services and support as required.

People received support from kind and compassionate staff who knew them well. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs, choices and preferences. Staff enjoyed their roles and there was good communication and teamwork which benefitted people living in the service.

People were encouraged to make decisions about how their care was provided and their privacy and dignity were protected and promoted. Staff gained people's consent before providing personal care. People were treated as individuals and positive interactions were observed between people and staff throughout the inspection.

There was a complaints system in place and complaints were seen to be responded to appropriately according to the provider’s policy. People, relatives and other professionals were confident any issues raised would be dealt with promptly and appropriately. Activities were varied and people were supported to take part in as much or as little as they chose. People were supported to follow their interests.

The management team continually monitored the quality of the service, identifying issues and making changes to improve care and outcomes. The registered manager worked transparently and promoted a positive and proactive culture where people were at the heart of the service. The management team sought to drive continual improvements for the benefit of people using the service.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 February 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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