Arthur Court

Updated 13 December 2023

The inspection

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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Arthur Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Arthur 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

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we wanted to ensure the service was providing a regulated activity.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 4 people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care and support at Arthur Court. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, director, manager from another of the providers locations, senior carers and carers. We also spoke with 2 healthcare professionals.

We reviewed a range of records including 4 care plans and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including auditing and monitoring records were reviewed.

Updated 13 December 2023

About the service

Arthur Court is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 19 people. The service provides support to people with a variety of mental health conditions, and some people were autistic or had a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service, with 4 people being in receipt of personal care.

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

People, relatives and healthcare professionals gave positive feedback about Arthur Court. However, we found that guidance was not always in place to inform staff how best to support people. When people moved into the service staff completed assessments, however the written assessments were not robust. Accident and incident oversight was not always documented and used to inform and update care plans. Checks and audits were not effective in identifying and making improvements identified during the inspection.

Medicines were managed safely. People told us they felt safe living at the service. The service was clean and well maintained.

There were sufficient staff in place, who received training and support to meet people’s needs. Staff worked with healthcare professionals to provide joined up care to people. People told us the food was good at the service, and people were encouraged to maintain a healthy balanced diet. The service was homely, and people’s rooms were personalised.

There was a positive culture within the service. Staff interactions with people were kind and compassionate. People told us they had positive relationships with staff. People were supported to be as independent as possible. Staff, people and their relatives felt involved in the service, and were committed to make improvements.

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 however did not always this practice.

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.

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 outstanding (published 6 October 2016).

Why we inspected

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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arthur Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to risk mitigation and good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.