All inspections: Scholars Mews - Care Quality Commission

The inspection took place on 28 September 2016 and was unannounced. We told the registered manager we would return on 30 September 2016 to complete the inspection visit.

Scholars Mews is a nursing home which provides care to older people including some people who are living with dementia. Scholars Mews is registered to provide care for up to 64 people. At the time of our inspection there were 33 people living at the home, however two people were in hospital.

This home was previously called Avon Court Care Home. When we inspected this home in November 2015, we rated the home as ‘requires improvement’. This was because staff and people lacked confidence in the management of the service and people were not always supported in line with their care plan, and to to pursue their hobbies and interests. At this inspection we looked to see if the provider had responded to make the required improvements.

The home 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. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run. At the time of this inspection the home had a registered manager in post.

People enjoyed living at Scholars Mews and they considered it their home. People received care that enabled them to live their lives as they wished and people were supported to remain as independent as possible. People were supported to make their own decisions and care was given in partnership with their wishes.

Care plans contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the individual care people required. However the clinical lead, registered manager and regional managers acknowledged some care plans required improvements and this was being addressed. People’s care and support was provided by a consistent staff team, although the provider’s staff team was supported by agency staff. Efforts were made to keep existing agency staff to support continuity of care. The staff team were knowledgeable and knew people well.

People were encouraged and supported by a caring staff team. People told us they felt safe living at Scholars Mews and staff knew how to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. Staff and the registered manager understood what actions to take if they had any concerns for people's wellbeing or safety.

Staff received training to meet people’s needs, and effectively used their skills and knowledge to support people and develop trusting relationships.

People were supported to pursue various hobbies and leisure activities which enabled them to strengthen and build relationships. Potential risks were considered positively so that people did things they enjoyed and kept in touch with those people who were important to them. Relatives told us they were able to visit whenever they wanted to, without restriction.

People had meals and drinks that met their individual requirements and people said they enjoyed the food choices provided.

People told us they could raise concerns or complaints if they needed to because the registered manager and staff were available and approachable.

The registered manager had quality monitoring processes which included audits and checks on medicines management, care records and accidents and incidents. The provider completed additional audits and checks to satisfy themselves improvements were being made.

This inspection took place on 24 November 2015 and was unannounced.

Avon Court Care Home is a three storey nursing home which provides care to older people including people who are living with dementia. Avon Court Care Home is registered to provide care for up to 64 people. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people living at Avon Court Care Home. There was a major refurbishment underway and one floor was not in use.

A registered manager was not in post. A new manager had been appointed and had been in post for five weeks. They told us their application for registration was being applied for. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe living at Avon Court Care Home. People told us staff were respectful and kind towards them and staff were caring to people throughout our visit. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity when they provided care and asked people for their consent before care was given. Staff protected people’s confidential information from unauthorised access.

Care plans contained accurate and relevant information for staff to help them provide the individual care and support people required. We saw examples of care records that reflected people’s wishes and how they wanted their care delivered. People received support from staff who had the knowledge to care for people.

People told us they received their medicines when required. Staff were trained to administer medicines and had been assessed as competent, which meant people received their medicines from suitably trained and experienced staff.

Staff understood the need to respect people’s choices and decisions. Assessments had been made and reviewed to determine people’s individual mental capacity to make certain decisions. Where people did not have capacity, decisions had been taken in ‘their best interests’ with the involvement of family members and appropriate health care professionals.

The provider was meeting their requirements set out in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The provider had made applications to the local authority to make sure people’s freedoms and liberties were not restricted unnecessarily. At the time of this inspection, three applications had been authorised under DoLS.

Systems that monitored the quality of service were being improved by the provider so action could be taken where areas for improvement were required. Checks completed by the manager helped them to prioritise what was required to ensure people received a standard of service they expected. Most people told us they were pleased with the service they received however some staff did not have confidence that issues they referred to the manager would be resolved to their satisfaction.

Archived: Scholars Mews

All Inspections

28 September 2016

During a routine inspection

24 November 2015

During a routine inspection