Dene Court Care Home

Dene Court is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 28 people who may be living with dementia, in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.

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

Many of the staff team at Dene Court were newly recruited. This meant they were in the process of completing their induction and initial staff training. Feedback from people, relatives and external professionals about staff kindness and person-centred approach was positive. However, we observed improvements were needed to ensure people were consistently treated with dignity and respect. This related to supporting people at mealtimes and ensuring privacy when providing personal care. The management team had addressed this with staff before the end of the inspection, additional training was planned, and ‘dignity’ champions appointed.

The management team were continuing to promote a positive culture at the service. , Extensive environmental improvements were in progress, including ensuring the environment promoted the independence of people living with dementia, in line with best practice.

People felt safe living at Dene Court. Staff were recruited safely, and safeguarding processes were in place to help protect people from abuse. Risks associated with people's care had been assessed and guidance was in place for staff to follow. Care plans were detailed, and person centred, however the information in them did not always reflect people’s current risks and needs. The management team had prioritised working on the floor due to staffing difficulties and been unable to complete this task in a timely way. This work was now in progress. In the meantime, they ensured staff remained well informed about people’s risks and feedback from people, relatives, health professionals and staff confirmed this was the case.

People received their medicines safely, and in the way prescribed for them. The provider had good systems to manage safeguarding concerns, accidents and environmental safety. Some improvements were needed with regard to infection prevention, and these had been made before the end of the inspection.

People benefitted from competent and skilled staff. This meant their healthcare and nutritional needs were met. External professionals were complimentary about how the service worked in partnership with them.

Dene Court provided a person-centred service. The care provided was sensitive to people's diverse needs. Staff effectively supported their communication which meant people could express their views and make a meaningful contribution to their community.

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. A busy activities programme was in place and being further developed. This was having a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. People and their relatives were consulted and asked for their views informally. There were plans to reintroduce a more formal quality assurance questionnaire, which had been paused during the pandemic.

Changes to the management team and staff structure had been introduced to further improve monitoring and accountability.

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

This service was registered with us on 24 June 2019 and this is the first rated inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 07 June 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.

Follow up

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

Dene Court is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to 28 people.

We found the following examples of good practice.

¿The home had been appropriately organised so people who had not tested positive for Covid-19 were not being cared for in the same part of the building as people who had tested positive.

¿Staffing levels had been increased where needed and time spent with people increased to counteract the feelings of isolation they may be experiencing.

¿Measures had been taken to minimise the risk of transmission of Covid-19, for example the use of disposable cutlery and crockery.

¿Staff had been supported to perform and log their weekly test themselves, to minimise the impact of routine testing on staffing levels.

¿The home has purchased specialist cleaning equipment.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.