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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

Capricorn Cottage is a care home. People at the home receive accommodation and 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.

There was not currently a registered manager for this service. However, the current manager had completed an application to register with the Care Quality Commission. The provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to gather information from the home before the inspection, so we could minimise our time at the service in line with our policies during the COVID pandemic.

What we did before 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 the relatives of three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the manager and three care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.