24 May 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Arncliffe Court Care home provides accommodation, personal and nursing care to people some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there was a total of 63 people accommodated in three of the five units, the other two units were closed.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Risks to people were assessed, monitored and managed. Staff provided people with the care and support they needed to minimise the risk of harm. They monitored people’s health safety and wellbeing where this was required and completed records to reflect the care and support people received.
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 now supported this practice. Decisions made on behalf of people who lacked the mental capacity to make particular decisions for themselves were made in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).
The systems for monitoring and improving the quality and safety of the service were used effectively. They brought about the required improvements to the quality and safety of the service following the last inspection. The manager promoted a culture of continuous learning and improvements.
Medicines were in the main safely managed. Medication for one person was not given at the right time and the procedure for ensuring one person received their medicines whilst out was not followed. These were isolated incidents and the manager addressed them immediately. Staff with responsibilities for managing medicines had completed the required training and their competency was regularly checked. Regular audits of medicines and records were completed.
Regular safety checks were carried out on the environment and equipment and records of the checks were maintained. Improvements were made during the inspection to secure some rooms which contained hazards.
Safe infection prevention and control (IPC) practices were followed. Staff completed IPC training and were kept up to date with current national IPC guidance. There was a good stock of PPE and staff used and disposed of it safely. Safe visiting arrangements were followed.
People received care and support from the right amount and skill mix of staff. Safe recruitment processes were followed. Applicants underwent a range of pre-employment checks to assess their suitability and fitness for the job. Induction training for agency staff had improved and staff were provided with further training in relation to the MCA which helped improve their knowledge.
There were processes for protecting people from the risk of abuse. Staff knew the signs and symptoms of abuse and the safeguarding reporting procedures. The manager worked with local authority safeguarding teams to minimise risk to people and others. People told us they felt safe with staff and they were treated well. Family members told us they were confident their relative was kept safe.
The manager had applied to CQC to become the registered manager of the service. They understood their role and responsibilities and regulatory requirements. We received positive feedback about the manager and the way they managed the service.
There was good partnership working and communication with external health and social care professionals and good communication with people, family members and staff.
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 11 August 2021).
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 16 and 19 July 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve, safe care and treatment, consent to care and treatment and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arncliffe Court Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.