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

One inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the 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

Corton House 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.

A manager was in post and had submitted an application to CQC to become registered. This means that once registered they and the provider would be 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 about the service since the last inspection. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

The inspection was carried out over two days. We spoke with 16 people using the service and nine of their relatives. We spoke with nine members of staff including the chief executive officer, the manager, deputy manager, two care supervisors, the activities co-ordinator, a team leader, a staff member responsible for maintenance, and a care assistant. We also spoke with three volunteers and a visiting health care professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and five people’s medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with one care supervisor and two care assistants. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and looked at additional records related to the management of the service. We contacted the local authority to seek their views on the service provided.