Background to this inspection
Updated
11 March 2021
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.
This inspection took place on 25 February 2021 and was announced.
Updated
11 March 2021
About the service
Appleby Court is a care home which can accommodate up to 61 older people who need residential or nursing care across two floors. At the time of our inspection 54 people were living in the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The registered manager's ethos was to place people at the heart of the service. They firmly believed that people should be 'heard' and listened to. They advocated for people and supported them to express their views to external health and social care professionals to have certain decisions over-turned and restrictions removed.
Staff fully believed in the registered managers vision to promote person-centred care and were proud to work for the service. They told us the registered manager's visibility around the home and their 'open-door' policy made them feel well-supported and involved.
Risks to people had been identified and assessed with guidance in place for staff to follow to ensure people did not come to harm. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and were confident reporting any concerns they may have. People told us they felt safe and family members were reassured their relatives were well looked after. People’s medicines were managed safely by trained staff and guidance was in place for people who received medicines ‘as required’.
There were enough suitably qualified and trained staff to meet people’s needs safely and effectively. Staff commented on the teamwork they had and how they supported each other especially during busy times. They told they felt they had time to sit with people and spend quality time with them.
People’s needs had been assessed and plans were in place to help manage these. Staff commented on how easy the care plans were to follow and how the information they contained helped them to support people.
People had access to other health and social care professionals when needed and staff followed the guidance they provided. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and spoke positively about the food provided. All staff had good knowledge of people’s individual dietary needs and preferences and provided people with the support they needed during meal times.
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.
People and family members spoke positively about the caring nature of all staff and told us they were "gentle" and "reassuring". Family members told us how welcome they were made to feel and that staff often took time to chat with them. Staff had developed positive relationships with people and provided care and support that was person-centred and based on their needs and choices.
A full time activities coordinator supported people to access a range of activities. Their 'bubbly' personality helped to 'bring people to life' and had developed positive relationships with them.
People and family members spoke positively about the management of the service. Effective systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and the registered provider was keen to improve the quality of care people received.
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 (report published 27 July 2017)
Why we inspected - This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up - We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.