Red Court Care Community

Updated 10 August 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 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 practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The service was inspected by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience undertook telephone calls to relatives during the inspection period. 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

Red Court Community 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. Red Court Community is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post but they were absent from the service for the majority inspection period.

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 and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including a support manager, two deputy managers, a nurse, a housekeeper and four members of care staff. Following our visit, we continued to review records and seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke by telephone with five relatives about their experience of the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 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 10 August 2022

About the service

Red Court Care Community provides accommodation, nursing and personal care for up to 49 people, some of whom may be living with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. People were accommodated on the ground floor across two units. At the time of the inspection there were 45 people living at the service.

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

The risks to people’s safety were not robustly assessed. The risk assessments did not contain enough information about people’s needs. The systems and processes in place to safeguard people from neglect or poor care were not always used effectively by staff. Incidents and accidents were not always reported on.

The quality monitoring processes in place to review and analyse information both in people’s care plans and incidents and accidents records were not effective, putting people at continued risk of harm.

There was not always a positive culture of person-centred care promoted at the service.

Staff undertook safe practices when administering medicines and there was enough staff to meet people’s needs. There had been improvements to the environment and how this was monitored

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.

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 6 April 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. A warning notice was issued to the provider and registered manager. At this inspection we found some improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of one of these regulations. However, they have remained in breach of two regulations.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 April 2022). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections.

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 that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe and Well Led sections of this full report.

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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Red Court Community 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, safeguarding people for abuse and improper treatment, as well as oversight and management of the service 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.