Picktree Court Care Home

Updated 11 November 2022

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, a specialist nurse advisor and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Picktree 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. Picktree Court 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local commissioners and safeguarding adults’ teams and reviewed the information they provided. We contacted the local Healthwatch for their feedback. 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 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 spoke with 5 people, 2 relatives, a visiting healthcare professional and 14 staff, including the director, registered manager, nurse, senior care assistant, care assistants, activities co-ordinator, a maintenance person, kitchen and domestic staff.

The Expert by Experience spoke with 10 relatives over the telephone.

We observed interactions between staff and people in communal areas, including at lunchtime. We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care records and medication records. We looked at 2 staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

Picktree Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 88 people. The service provides support to people aged 65 and over, and adults under 65, including people living with a dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 65 people using the service. The home accommodates people across three floors, with the kitchen and laundry located on a separate floor.

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

People living at Picktree Court Care Home told us they received safe care. Since the previous inspection improvements had been made to how risks to people's safety and well-being were assessed and managed. Concerns about people’s safety were acted on and staff knew how to raise safeguarding concerns. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. We identified some minor issues with the safe storage of medicines which were immediately corrected by nurses and the registered manager.

Staff had the necessary skills to carry out their roles. Staff had regular training and opportunities for frequent supervision and observations of their work performance. Checks made on agency staff had improved and followed safe practices. People had access to healthcare services when they needed them. The home was clean, maintained to a high standard and people’s rooms were personalised. There was some signage and decoration to help people with a dementia navigate around the home and further decoration was planned.

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 home supported this practice. Staff had a good understanding of when the principles of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied, however the documentation needed further detail about who was involved in decision making. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs and were offered a choice and variety of food.

People, relatives and healthcare professionals told us staff were very caring and promoted people's independence. People received personalised care and planning reflected this. People and relatives, we spoke with told us they felt able to raise concerns and these would be responded to. Complaints records supported that the home followed its complaints procedures. People were supported with social activities and to have contact with loved ones.

The home was led by a registered manager and wider management team who were committed to improving people's quality of life. There was a clear management structure in place and long-standing staff who told us they worked well as a team. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place that they used to monitor the quality and safety of the home. There were systems to learn and develop practice from concerns raised and the management team shared learning with staff. Staff worked with external social and health care professionals and we received positive feedback from agencies involved with the home.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 5 June 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider consider people's personal activity needs to promote their well-being, consider how they respond to complaints and the impact of their responses on the complainant to ensure future good working relationships, review their approach to end of life care and review their approach to seeking consent.

At this inspection we found improvements in all the areas where recommendations had been made.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.