Background to this inspection
Updated
21 January 2022
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.
This inspection took place on 11 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours of notice of the inspection.
Updated
21 January 2022
About the service
Byron Court is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 40 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service is registered to support up to 52 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives said the home was a safe place to live and there were systems in place to protect people from abuse. People and their relatives were happy with staffing levels at the home, which we had highlighted as an area for improvement during our last inspection. We saw people were attended to promptly by staff throughout our inspection and one person said, “The staff always come when I need them; I just buzz.”
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.
People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about the food and drink at the home, along with the support provided by staff. One person commented, “The food is good and plentiful.” Staff supported people to access other healthcare services when needed and the healthcare professionals we spoke with gave positive feedback about the quality of care being provided.
People and relatives gave us positive feedback about the staff at the home and the quality of care being provided. One relative commented, “My [relative] can be very difficult but [relative] is always treated with care and dignity. We observed staff treating people with dignity and respect throughout our inspection.
People’s care plans were person-centred and gave staff the information needed to support people safely and effectively. People gave us positive feedback about the activities at the home. One person said, “There are always activities and I do try to join in.”
Quality assurance at the home had improved after we highlighted this as an area for improvement during our last inspection. There was also a positive, friendly and caring culture amongst the staff.
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 12 February 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safety and cleanliness of the environment, staff lacking dignity and respect for people living at the home and lacking training to support people living with dementia. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.
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.