Ross Court Care Home

Ross Court Care Home is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 42 people. The service supports older people including people who live with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe living at Ross Court Care Home. Staff had received safeguarding training and were clear on how and when to raise concerns. Where appropriate, actions were taken to keep people safe. Staff contacted health professionals when people's health needs changed. Staff followed good infection control practices. A programme of refurbishment was taking place around the home. Safe staff recruitment systems were in place. There were enough staff to provide safe care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

An activities team organised a rich programme, whereby different things to do for fun and interest were offered for those who wished to participate. People had opportunities to maintain and develop relationships with visitors to widen their social networks. There was a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident to raise any concerns either with staff or the registered manager if they needed to. People were supported at the end of their lives in ways which reflected their choices and wishes.

There was a positive person-centred culture at the service which ensured good outcomes for people. Governance systems and processes were in place to measure the quality of care and drive improvement. People, their relatives and staff were asked for feedback about the service in order to continuously develop and improve the service.

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 the service was good (published 9 March 2022).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to refurbishment of the service and its impact on people. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

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 not changed and remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

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.

Ross Court Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care to up to 42 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

Ross Court Care Home accommodates people in one adapted building. A separate visiting pod is located in the gardens.

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

People had been supported to keep in touch with those that were important to them, through information technology platforms such as skype and face-to-face visits with their family members. Visits in person were conducted in people’s rooms or in a visitor’s pod. Most relatives told us this was working well. Relatives gave us examples showing how staff worked flexibly to support visits from additional visitors, whilst managing risks to people. The provider introduced new visiting arrangements during and immediately after the inspection, to further support people’s well-being and to align with Government guidance.

People were positive about the support they had to do things they enjoyed. People were involved in deciding what care they wanted, with support from relatives where they chose this. Staff supported people so their communication and sensory needs were met. Systems were in place to manage complaints and to promptly address them.

Staff understood risks people experienced and took action to promote their safety. Regular checks were made on the environment to ensure the risk of infections were reduced. This included checking the COVID-19 vaccination status of staff and visitors and supporting them to use appropriate PPE. Checks were undertaken on the suitability of staff before they were permitted to work with people.

People and their relatives told us the culture at the home was open and they and their relatives were encouraged to make suggestions for how the home was run. The registered manager, senior staff and provider listened to feedback provided and used this to plan further improvements in care.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, (published on 06 June 2019).

We received concerns in relation to visiting arrangements. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

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

The provider’s visiting arrangements were not aligned to current Government guidance at this inspection. We found there was no impact on the well-being of people as a result of this. The provider subsequently realigned their visiting arrangements with Government guidance. Please see the responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

• People liked living at Ross Court Care Home and had developed close bonds with the staff who cared for them.

• Staff supported people to maintain their independence and cared for people in ways which showed them they were valued and respected.

• People were involved in decisions about their care. Where people needed help to make their own choices, staff supported them to do this.

• There was sufficient staff to meet people’s safety needs, but people told us there were occasions when staff did not time to spend socialising with them. Staff told us they would like more time to chat to people but told us new staff had recently been appointed and this had led to improvements. The registered manager and provider kept staffing levels under review and provided assurances they would check the deployment of staff, so people would continue to have their preferences met.

• Staff understood how to recognise the signs of abuse and knew the risks to people’s safety. People were supported to stay as safe as possible. Staff were confident if they raised any concerns these would be promptly addressed.

• Some people enjoyed the independence of managing their own medicines. Where people were supported to have their medicines safely and checks were undertaken to ensure these were administered as prescribed.

• Staff had been trained to understand how to reduce the risk of infections and accidental and used their knowledge and equipment provided to do this.

• People’s needs were assessed, and their views were incorporated into their can plans, so their needs would be met in the ways they preferred. Where appropriate, people’s relatives and other health and social care providers were consulted when people’s care was planned.

• Staff were supported to provide good care to people though induction programmed and training. Staff highlighted their development opportunities were linked to the needs of the people living at the home.

• People and their relatives were positive about their dining experiences. Relatives and staff gave examples showing how people’s health had improved because of the support they received to have enough to eat.

• Other health and social care professionals told us staff knew people’s health and well-being needs well, and effective systems were in place to work across organisations, to people support people to enjoy good health.

• People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this.

• Staff knew how people enjoyed spending their time and supported people to do things they enjoyed and widen their experiences. This included people’s spiritual needs being met, and opportunities to do individual activities in the community. This enhanced people’s sense of well-being and quality of life.

• Systems were in place to take any learning from complaints and accidents and incidents, and to drive through improvements in people’s care.

• Relatives told us the care provided to people at the end of their lives reflected their family member’s wishes and preferences. Relatives emphasised how supportive staff were and how sensitively both their relatives and they had been treated at this important stage of their lives.

• The registered manager and provider checked the quality of the care provided. Where areas had been highlighted for further development action plans were put in place.

• The provider and registered manager reflected on feedback received and used this information to enhance people’s experience of care further. The provider also took learning from feedback to develop their audits, so they were assured they were meeting their obligations.

• We found the service met the characteristics of a “Good” overall.

Rating at last inspection: Good. The last report for Ross Court Care Home was published on 19 October 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

The inspection took place on 20 September 2016 and was unannounced.

There was a registered manager at this home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were involved in decisions about how to keep them safe. People enjoyed their freedom and the ability to go out as they choose. Staffing levels were determined by the needs of people living at the home.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed by their GP.

There was a focus on people enjoying their meals and creating a restaurant experience. People were involved in decisions about the meals which were provided and how they were served.

People's privacy was respected. People enjoyed positive and respectful relationships with staff. People's individual faiths and beliefs were encouraged.

People were encouraged to set themselves goals and to have aspirations and were supported to achieve these, including things they thought were no longer possible. This enhanced people's quality of life and wellbeing.

People's feedback was sought and used to inform how the home was run. People's changing needs were responded to.

People lived in a positive environment in which staff felt listened to and were motivated in their roles. Links with the local community were used to benefit people. The quality of care people received was regularly reviewed to ensure high standards were maintained.