Brancepeth Court

Updated 21 December 2022

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

An inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Brancepeth Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Brancepeth 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 not a registered manager in post. A manager had recently been appointed and had submitted their application.

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 commissioners 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 7 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and contacted 8 relatives. We spoke with the director, regional manager, manager, 3 care staff members and the cook.

We reviewed a range of records, which included 4 people’s care records, staff files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 21 December 2022

About the service

Brancepeth Court is a care home, which can accommodate up to 49 people. The service is split into three units, which provides nursing and personal care for older people, a 7 bed facility for adults with learning disabilities called Rose Cottage and a unit for people with mental health needs. On the day of inspection there were 38 people living in Brancepeth Court and Rose Cottage.

Brancepeth Court is located in the same building as another registered care home called Lumley Residential Home.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

People were regularly asked for their opinions and gave them freely. People were involved in discussions about their support and given information in a way they understood. Where people had support, they told us this was flexible, available when they needed it and to the level they needed. People were supported safely with medicines. Infection prevention and control practices reflected current guidance.

Right Care

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The provider understood the new electronic assessment tool required further enhancement to ensure it fully covered people’s needs.

Right culture

The service was open to new ways of working and ongoing improvements were introduced to promote independence and inclusivity. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. They sought advice and feedback from everyone involved in people's care. Staff were aware of and working to best practice guidance for supporting people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

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 good (published 22 February 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

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 good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.