Alma Court Care Home

Updated 19 November 2021

Why we inspected

This was a targeted inspection to check whether the provider had systems and processes in place to effectively manage risk and to provide safe care and treatment to people.

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 completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Alma Court Care 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 they, along with 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. However, we gave the service notice of the inspection on our arrival in the carpark. This was because we had to gather information on the home’s current COVID 19 status and the providers procedures for visiting professionals.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative. In addition, we spoke with seven staff members including three carers, a senior carer, the area manager, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We looked at the care and support plans for four people specifically the assessments of risk associated with their care and support.

After the inspection

We reviewed the information gathered to validate the evidence found.

Updated 19 November 2021

About the service

Alma Court Care Home is a care home that provides nursing and personal care for older people, most of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, 44 people lived at the service. The home is divided into six separate units, each with its own communal areas.

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

The provider had assessed the risks to people associated with their care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks and knew what to do to minimise the potential for harm to people.

When incidents, accidents or other significant event occurred the provider had systems in place to identify any learning and to review their systems to minimise the risk of reoccurrence. Any learning was effectively passed on to staff members to improve people’s safety.

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 requires improvement (published 24 April 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident. The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about the management of the risk of scalding. This inspection examined those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on a Warning Notice or other specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

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.

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.