Vauxhall Court Care Home

Updated 18 November 2022

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

One inspector carried out the inspection and an Expert by Experience made calls to 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

Vauxhall Court Care Home 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. Vauxhall Court Care Home 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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager was in post and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on the 11 October 2022 and announced on the 12 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

We requested feedback from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine members of staff including the manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We spoke with two people who use the service about their experience of the care provided. 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 one visiting professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and 14 medicine records. We looked at three 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.

Updated 18 November 2022

About the service

Vauxhall Court Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care to up to 33 people. The service provides support to older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people using the service.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely. Prescribed medicines were not always in stock which meant at times people had not been administered all their medicines.

Risk assessments were not in place to mitigate risk to staff and people receiving care and support.

Care plans did not always contain the most up to date information to ensure staff were meeting people’s needs.

The provider's mandatory training was not completed by all staff. Staff did not recognise the importance of having the appropriate training and skills to safely support people.

The management team completed regular spot checks including at night. This supported ongoing improvements in the quality of care people were receiving.

There were procedures to identify when people needed safeguarding and staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe.

Improvements had been made since our last inspection. There were systems in place to improve the quality of 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 and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 31 May 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook a focused inspection to follow up the Warning Notices we previously served to check whether the provider now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, consent and good 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.