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 was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Cromwell Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation, 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 CQC at the time of the inspection. Registered managers and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

A telephone call was made to the registered manager when we arrived at the service. We needed to ensure that infection prevention control arrangements were in place before we entered the home; this helped to mitigate the risk of any cross contamination or transmission of COVID-19.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service since they had been registered with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection and formulate a ‘planning tool’.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who lived at the home, four relatives about their experiences of the care provided, five members of staff, the registered manager and one kitchen assistant.

We reviewed a range of records during the inspection and remotely. Records included five people’s care records, several medication administration records and two staff personnel files in relation to recruitment. As well as a variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We reviewed a significant amount of information remotely by asking the registered manager to send us key information following the inspection visit.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at audit data, infection prevention control measures and quality assurance tools and checks that were in place.