Archived: Eccleston Court Care Home

Updated 12 November 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Eccleston Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. We also contacted the local Healthwatch who had not received any information about Eccleston Court Care Home. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and 15 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the regional manager, the interim manager, a registered nurse and four care staff.

We reviewed a range of records during the site visit. This included five people’s care records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including governance audits, quality monitoring and complaints management.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 12 November 2020

About the service

Eccleston Court Care Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to 29 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 54 people.

Eccleston Court Care Home provides care across separate two units. One unit specialises in dementia care.

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

Care planning and health monitoring was taking place but was inconsistent. New systems required embedding to improve and standardise the quality of record keeping. The provider had failed again to demonstrate the required standard of governance. This is a breach of Regulation 17 (Good Governance).

Complaints had been investigated and responded to in line with the provider’s complaints policy. However, improvements and learning from complaints had progressed slowly.

Most relatives were very positive about care at Eccleston Court Care Home but told us that communication between themselves and their loved ones could be better supported by staff at the home.

People told us that activities were limited. The provider was in the process of appointing a new activity coordinator.

People were complimentary about the care and support they received from the service. One person told us, “The staff are caring and friendly I have no complaints.” Another said, “The staff are busy but very attentive. Staff treat me very well.”

Staff told us they felt supported in their role. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable and passionate about providing good care.

There was a clear policy and system to manage infection control particularly in terms of the prevention of Covid-19. The inspector completed an infection control questionnaire on site and was assured by the findings.

There had been ongoing changes to the management team at Eccleston Court. New systems were being implemented to improve people’s experience of care.

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 28 February 2020).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. This was a focused inspection and the report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Responsive and Well-led. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.