• Care Home
  • Care home

Longmead Court Nursing Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

247 London Road, Black Notley, Braintree, Essex, CM77 8QQ (01376) 344440

Provided and run by:
Dovecote Care Homes Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 15 May 2021

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.

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 practices we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by an inspector, an assistant 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

Longmead Court Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to ten members of staff, including the registered manager. We used observation to gather evidence of people's experiences of the service and spoke with seventeen relatives about the care their loved one received.

We reviewed three people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence found.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 15 May 2021

About the service

Longmead Court Nursing Home is a residential service and provides personal and nursing care to older people in Black Notley near to the town of Braintree in Essex. The service can support up to 54 people and there were 31 people in residence when we inspected.

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

There were systems in place to manage infection control. The service was clean and comfortable and there were no unpleasant odours. All staff undertook COVID-19 tests in line with the government guidance in order to protect the people they cared for. Visits by relatives had been facilitated to the service which was welcomed by staff and people using the service.

The registered manager had ensured that all staff and people living in the service had the information they needed about vaccines to ensure that they could make informed decisions and there was a high take up of the vaccine.

There were enough staff available to meet the needs of the people living in the service. The process to recruit staff was thorough and new staff were provided with training to ensure that they had the skills they needed to provide effective care.

Risks were assessed and people had been provided with the equipment they needed to mitigate risks. Equipment was regularly checked to make sure it was safe. People had good access to healthcare and regular surgeries were held at the service.

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 were supported by a kind and friendly staff team who cared for them with respect. People had access to a range of activities to promote their wellbeing.

Care plans were detailed and informative and underpinned the delivery of personalised care. Systems were in place to escalate and hand over information about peoples changing needs.

The registered manager was visible within the service and knew each person well. They had a good level of oversight of the care provided. Staff morale had improved, and staff told us that that they received the support they needed.

The provider had a range of systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided.

For more details, please find 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 8 November 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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 inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last 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 the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

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.