We carried out a review of the data available to us about Avon Court on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Avon Court, you can give feedback on this service.
Avon Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 48 people. The service supports older people living with dementia. People live over three floors in one purpose-built building. The service shares a café and communal activities area with Bourne House, which together forms Avonbourne Care Centre. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Relatives felt people were safe and cared for at Avon Court. We observed staff interacting with people in a friendly and respectful way. People appeared content and comfortable in the presence of staff.
Systems to record incidents and manage risks to people had been implemented effectively. Staff had recorded detailed information about incidents, which had been reviewed by the management team. Action had been taken to minimise the risk of repeated incidents.
People were supported to take any medicines they had been prescribed. The provider had worked to improve medicines management systems and had acted to address medicines errors.
There were enough staff available. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and how to meet them. New staff were thoroughly checked before starting work in the home and given a good induction.
There were good infection prevention and control procedures. Procedures had been reviewed and updated to reflect the latest guidance in relation to infectious diseases. Systems were in place to prevent visitors catching and spreading infections.
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.
The registered manager was aware of the need to notify us of certain important events. Records demonstrated these notifications had been submitted when necessary.
The registered manager worked well with people and their relatives to meet their needs. They had developed good relationships with health and social care professionals and community organisations.
There were effective management systems in place to monitor how the service was operating and plan any improvements that were needed. The registered manager had plans to develop the service, with a focus on engagement with people and their relatives and community involvement.
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 29 April 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 10 March 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and notification of incidents.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Avon Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Avon Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 48 people. The service provides support to people who are living with dementia. People live over three floors in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Risks to people were not always effectively assessed and managed. Action was not consistently taken following incidents to reduce the risk of a similar incident happening again.
People were not always supported to take their prescribed cream medicines.
The provider had not notified CQC of significant events in the service they are legally required to.
We made a recommendation that the provider reviews communication plans for people to ensure information is always provided to people in an accessible format.
The provider’s systems to assess the quality of the service provided and make improvements had not identified the shortfalls we found during the inspection.
The home had good infection prevention and control procedures in place. Procedures had been reviewed and updated to reflect the COVID-19 pandemic. Systems were in place to prevent visitors catching and spreading infections.
Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual needs and a commitment to provide person-centred care. Staff worked with health and social care specialists where needed to develop plans to support people. People were supported to see their doctor and other health professionals when needed.
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 were treated with kindness and relatives were positive about staff’s caring attitude. We observed staff interacting with people in a kind and respectful way.
People had been supported to keep in contact with family and friends throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Relatives said staff had provided very good support, which had been particularly helpful when they were not able to visit.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 22 August 2019 and this is the first inspection as an individual location.
The last rating for the service when it was registered as one location with the neighbouring service, as Avonbourne Care Centre, was requires improvement, published on 8 August 2019.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident, following which a person using the service sustained a serious injury. This incident is subject to a further investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.
The information we received about the incident indicated concerns about the management of risks. This inspection examined those risks. 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.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and notifying us of significant events in the service at this inspection. We have also made a recommendation about ensuring people receive information in an accessible format.
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.