We inspected the service on 08 July 2015. The visit was unannounced. Our last inspection took place on 21 August 2013 and there were no identified breaches of legal requirements.
Suffolk Court accommodates up to 40 elderly people, with physical disability and living with mild to moderate dementia. Out of the beds, 21 are for permanent residents, 15 are allocated for intermediate care and four for respite care.
Accommodation is in single rooms which all have en-suite facilities. Lounge and dining facilities are situated on both floors with the main large dining and lounge area being on the ground floor. There is level access to the enclosed gardens with some rooms overlooking this area.
There was 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.
During our visit we saw people looked well cared for. We observed staff speaking in a caring and respectful manner to people who lived in the home. Staff demonstrated they knew people’s individual characters, likes and dislikes.
We found the service was meeting the legal requirements relating to Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People’s care records demonstrated that all relevant documentation was securely and clearly filed.
Staff we spoke with told us they were aware of their responsibilities with regard to safeguarding people who lived at the home. They were able to tell us about the symptoms of possible abuse taking place and how they would report this.
We saw the provider had a system in place for the purpose of assessing and monitoring the quality of the service. Records showed that the provider investigated and responded to people’s complaints, according to the provider’s complaints procedure.
The home met people’s nutritional needs and people reported they had a good choice of food.
People’s medicines were managed safely and people received appropriate healthcare support. We saw people were referred to relevant healthcare professionals in a timely manner.
We looked at four staff personnel files and saw the recruitment process in place ensured that staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. There was an on-going training programme in place for staff to ensure they were kept up to date and aware of current good practice.
Infection control was managed throughout the home. We looked in people’s bedrooms and found people had personalised their rooms with ornaments and photographs.