Updated 23 March 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 team consisted of 2 inspectors, 2 nurse specialists 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. They assisted the inspection by talking to people living in the home and then making calls to relatives to seek feedback on the service.
Service and service type
Azalea Court is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Azalea Court is a care home with 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
Inspection activity started on 10 February 2023 and ended on 15 February 2023. We visited the service on 10 February. The visit was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included complaints and safeguarding alerts. 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 with 19 staff. This included the registered manager, deputy manager, quality assurance manager, clinical lead, unit managers, nurses and care workers, head of housekeeping and the nominated individual. A nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We met with 25 people living in the home and 3 visiting relatives. We later spoke with 15 relatives on the phone. We visited all 4 units in the home. We observed a mealtime in each unit. 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 carried out general observations and specific observations of people with one-to-one staffing.
We looked at 15 people’s care records and multiple people’s medicines records. We also looked at various documents relating to the management of the service. This included staff training, recruitment records for 5 staff employed since the last inspection, medicines management records, quality audits and analysis of falls, accidents/incidents.
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.
We completed a tour of the bu