Osbourne Court

Updated 3 February 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

Osbourne Court Care Home 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. Osbourne Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. There was a new manager who had started since the last inspection and had applied to be registered.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from health and social care professionals. 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 visited the service location on 17 January 2023 and had a video call with the manager, regional manager, regional support manager and Head of Care Quality on 24 January 2023. We spoke with 5 people and received feedback from 6 relatives. We also spoke with, or received feedback from, 12 staff including the manager, deputy manager, regional manager, regional support manager and support workers. We reviewed feedback from health and social care professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records and medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed. These included training records, incident records and quality assurance processes.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

What we did after the inspection

We sought assurance about records involving people's care and support needs and preferences.

Updated 3 February 2023

About the service

Osbourne Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 69 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are 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

People’s safety was well managed for the most part. The management and staff team had worked to improve systems that raised awareness and promoted safety. There were some points raised as part of the inspection in relation to robust risk assessment, checks and controls and swift action was taken on the day of the inspection visit to address these.

The management systems in the home were now in place. The embedding of these systems was still ongoing to help ensure they were proactive and not reactive, sustained any improvements and continued to learn from any lessons, both historical, and current. Care plans were a work in progress as they did not hold all information needed, and some handwriting was difficult to read, but the management team were aware of this and working on addressing it. Some communication and end of life care plans needed more development. Action was taken to address this following the inspection.

Feedback about the management was positive, staff felt there was support, guidance and leadership which had improved the morale and culture in the home. The new manager started at the home after the last inspection. They had worked with the senior managers and staff team to drive improvement.

Infection control practices were in place and staff were working in accordance with guidance. Medicines management was monitored and where we identified some areas for improvement, this was addressed on the day of the visit. This mainly related to record keeping.

People, relatives and staff told us that staffing had improved at the service. The use of agency staff had reduced, and people’s needs were seen to be responded to appropriately. Staff told us they felt trained and supported.

Staff were aware of people’s needs and risks. In addition, they carried a sheet which detailed key information they needed to be aware of.

People’s privacy and dignity was promoted. Staff spoke with people nicely and people told us staff were kind and helpful. People told us they were involved in making choices about their day and their care. Relatives told us they were also involved as needed and they were happy to approach a member of the management team should they need to or if they needed to make a complaint.

People had access to food, drink and call bells throughout our inspection. Staff carried out checks on people and offered drinks. People were also able to participate in activities as they wished. The activity team were working with people developing plans and activities they would enjoy.

There was redecoration ongoing. This meant that the upstairs unit was closed. The management team advised that when this was completed, further work to ensure the building was more dementia friendly would be considered.

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.

Rating at last inspection

The last inspection for this service was not rated (published 20 July 2022). The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 11 May 2022).

This service has been in Special Measures since 20 July 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

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.

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection and was prompted in part due to concerns received about standards of care, response to changing health needs, management and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a comprehensive inspection to review all the key questions.

The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

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

Follow up

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.