Newton Court Care Home

Updated 26 February 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 02 February 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 26 February 2022

This comprehensive inspection took place on the 14 and 15th November 2018 and was unannounced. At our previous inspection 18th and 20th September 2017 the overall rating was ‘requires improvement.’ We had found three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to, the need for consent, improvements needed for safe care and treatment and improvements needed for governance systems within the service. Following the inspection in September 2017 the provider implemented an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the service. At this inspection we found that the actions had been met and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations.

Newton Court Care Home is a purpose built care home located close to Middlewich town centre and is part of the Bupa Care Homes group. All bedrooms are single with en-suite toilet and washbasins. The home is registered to provide care for up to 60 people, at the time of the inspection there were 52 people in receipt of a service. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided.

The service has a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Some areas needed continued oversight and improvements with the management of records and paperwork.There were various systems and audits in place to monitor and support the quality and safety of the service.

Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed. Supplies of medications were recently out of stock which is inappropriate. Staff took appropriate actions with changes to their suppliers so they reduced further risks to people being without necessary medications due to issues with suppliers. The provider had taken appropriate on-going actions to show continued improvements to supplies of medications and staff training and competencies in managing people’s medications.

People were protected from potential harm and abuse by trained staff who were knowledgeable of local safeguarding procedures. Risks to people’s safety were identified and where necessary, appropriate action taken to keep people safe. There were systems in place to help make sure staff employed at the home were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

There was mixed feedback regarding staffing levels. Senior staff were confident that staffing levels were increased when they identified a need to do this to meet the needs of people at the service. Trained nurses were recently provided with extra hours to help them in managing their paperwork and management of medications.

The service was clean, tidy and well maintained. We recommend the service reviews all areas of the building and refers to published guidance in developing services and their environments to meet people’s needs with dementia.

People who used the service and most relatives had a positive attitude about the service being delivered and about the standard of care and support provided by the staff team. People were treated with respect, consideration and kindness. Most relatives, staff and people being supported acknowledged improvements since the registered manager had commenced working at the service.

Stakeholders and members of multidisciplinary teams shared positive feedback about the care provided to people living at the service.

People were referred to appropriate health and social care professionals when necessary to ensure they received treatment and support for their specific needs.

People were supported by a team of staff that had received training and support to maintain their skills and knowledge in order to meet the needs of the people they supported. Some records for staff training needed updating to show accurate dates for when staff attend training.

Information and arrangements were in place for the staff team to respond to concerns or complaints from people using the service and their representatives. Records needed further review to show updates to complaints regarding the outcomes of actions taken.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrict way possible. Staff had followed the Code of Practice in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).