Chilton Court

Updated 25 January 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by 4 inspectors across the 2 days of the inspection. The inspection team also included an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people and their relatives. 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

Chilton Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Chilton Court is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on both days.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke and had contact with 9 people who used the service and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, provider, head of care, kitchen staff, housekeeping staff and care staff during our inspection visit.

Following the visit, we had email or telephone correspondence with a further 13 relatives and 8 staff members.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 8 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service including quality assurance monitoring and the services policies and procedures.

Updated 25 January 2024

About the service

Chilton Court is a residential care home that does not provide nursing. Chilton Court accommodates up to 47 people who require support with their personal care needs, some of whom are living with dementia. There were various forms of accommodation provided such as houses, flats and bedrooms. At the time of this inspection there were 36 people using the service.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

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

Not everyone had a sufficient and detailed care and risk management plan in place. This meant staff had not been provided with formal guidance as to the care support needed and how to identify specific risks to people's health, welfare and safety.

Whilst people were supported by kind and caring staff, there were insufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner overnight. The provider took immediate action to address this.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had effective safeguarding systems in place. Overall, effective systems were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection with the exception of some dirty equipment and light pulls.

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.

Whilst audits in place had identified some of the shortfalls we found at this inspection, progress on rectifying these concerns was slow. The provider had not ensured there was adequate oversight of the service. Quality assurance systems and processes did not identify or address all of the issues found during this inspection.

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 (published 16 July 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

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 good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Chilton Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the safe management of risk, recruitment of staff as well as the provider’s governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.