Austen Court Care Home

Updated 25 August 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

On the first day the inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and a specialist advisor who is a nurse. On the second day the inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors. An Expert by Experience carried out telephone calls to people following our onsite inspection. 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

Austen Court 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. Austen 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The first day of the inspection was unannounced. The second day was announced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We also requested feedback from Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 18 April 2023 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person who lived at the home about their experience of the care provided. We spent time seeing how people were cared for. 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. We spoke with 11 relatives about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with 13 staff members including the registered manager, deputy manager, unit managers, nurses, senior care staff and care staff. Additionally, we talked with the compliance and quality manager, nominated individual and the provider. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records, 2 people’s DoLS authorisations with conditions, and multiple medication records. We looked at a variety of records in relation to the managemen

Updated 25 August 2023

About the service

Austen Court is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care for up to 69 people. The service provides support to younger and older people who may have physical disabilities, sensory impairments and/or be living with dementia. The home's purpose-built environment is situated over three floors. At the time of our inspection, there were 64 people living at the home.

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

People were not consistently protected from the risk of infections as staff did not always follow good hygiene practices in communal toilet and bathroom areas. Other areas of the home environment were clean, and staff made appropriate use of personal protective equipment to protect people from the risk of infections.

Staff did not always put their knowledge into practice as they had used inappropriate equipment to dispose of sharps items such as used needles. People received their medicines as prescribed from staff who were trained and competent to do so.

People were supported by staff that understood how to keep them safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report concerns. There were enough staff to support people’s care and safety needs. The provider’s recruitment processes were robust ensuring only people of a suitable character were employed to work with vulnerable people. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to identify themes and the actions needed to prevent them from happening again. Lessons learnt were shared with the staff team.

People’s needs had been assessed and were recorded in detailed care plans. Deployment of staff met people’s needs. Staff were provided with appropriate training in relation to their role. Staff received supervisions and told us they felt supported. People were supported appropriately to eat and drink. People and relatives told us they were supported with their healthcare needs, records confirmed this.

Systems and processes were in place to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service provided. This allowed the registered manager and provider to identify shortfalls and address them. The management team were responsive to the concerns we identified and took immediate action. People, relatives, and staff views were gathered through meetings and satisfaction surveys. Actions plans were developed and used to drive through improvements.

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.

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 good (published 26 October 2021).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Austen 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.