Ivy Court

Updated 11 August 2023

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

The inspection was completed by 3 inspectors 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

Ivy Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under 1 contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ivy 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 had been recruited and very recently commenced in post.

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 sought feedback from the local authority contracts and safeguarding teams who work with the service. 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

We spoke with 11 members of staff including care staff, senior care staff, laundry assistant, handy person, admin assistant, the deputy manager, and the new manager. As the manager was new in post, a manager from another of the provider’s homes attended to provide support. We spoke with 9 people who used the service, 7 visiting relatives and observed interactions between people who used the service and staff. We also spoke with 2 visiting health care professionals who regularly visits the service.

We looked around the home to review the facilities available for people and the infection prevention and control procedures in place. We also looked at a range of documentation including care files and daily records for 7 people and medication administration records for 3 people. We looked at 3 staff files for recruitment and reviewed documentation relating to the management and running of the service such as staff rotas, training records, monitoring records and audits.

Updated 11 August 2023

About the service

Ivy Court is a residential care home built over 2 floors. Each floor has dining and lounge areas. The service provides care to older people and younger adults, people living with dementia, sensory impairment and those with a physical disability. The service can support up to 70 people. At the time of inspection 48 people were using the service.

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

Some people did not receive appropriate support at lunchtime, and specialised diets were not always provided to those who needed them. People’s daily records did not always match the care provided to them. The management team told us they would address these concerns.

There had been some changes in the management of the serviced in the past year and there was a new manager, who had very recently come into post. The quality assurance systems in the service had been disrupted to some extent and had failed to identify the concerns we saw at the inspection.

We asked the management team to refer concerns raised with us by people who used the service to the local authority safeguarding team. Although, most people felt safe living at Ivy Court and where risks to people had been identified there was good guidance in place for staff.

There were enough to keep people safe and recruitment and selection procedures were in place to make sure suitable staff were employed. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. The environment was spacious, well laid out and clean and tidy.

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.

Staff worked closely with relevant health care professionals to make sure people received appropriate care when they needed it. Systems were in place which enabled people, their relatives, and staff to provide feedback on the service and suggestions for improvements. Information from feedback was used to develop and improve the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 10 February 2023).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident in which a person who used the service sustained a serious injury. This incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident showed potential concerns about the management of risk of scalds. This inspection examined those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe section of this full report.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe 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. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. 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 Ivy Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings of this inspection. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. We have identified breaches of regulation in relation to the safety and management of the service.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full 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.