Astor Court

Updated 6 July 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team was made up of an inspector 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

Astor Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received from the provider since the last inspection, such as information about serious injuries and deaths.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch about 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 all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the service. Some people who used the service could not verbally communicate their experience of the care they received. 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 the registered manger, the deputy manager, and four care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. These included four people's care records and medicines records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider during and after the inspection.

After the inspection

We asked the provider to send us some additional information so we could validate the evidence we found.

Updated 6 July 2019

Astor Court is a residential care home providing personal care to 37 older people at the time of the inspection, including some people living with a dementia type condition. The service can support up to 43 people. Care is provided over two floors. Nursing care is not provided at the home.

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

People told us Astor Court was a good home. They spoke highly of the registered manager. The registered manager had worked hard since our last inspection to deliver the improvements required. They had strengthened the checks they carried out to monitor the quality of the service.

There were systems in place to monitor and maintain the quality and safety of the service. Medicines were now well managed. There were enough staff to support people and safe recruitment procedures were followed.

Care was provided in a person-centred way. Staff knew people well. People and relatives told us staff were kind and treated them well. People were included in planning their care. Their needs and preferences were well documented. There were a range of activities on offer for people to take part in.

Staff had the skills and experience to meet people’s needs. People told us they were well supported. They had access to a range of health professionals when required. People told us the food on offer was enjoyable and their nutritional needs were well met.

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 (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 10 April 2018) and we found three breaches of regulations. 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.

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.