Primrose Court Care Home

Updated 21 October 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

Primrose Court Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Primrose Court Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

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.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers, care workers, kitchen and domestic staff and the maintenance person.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records, three staff recruitment files and multiple medication records. A variety of documents relating to the management of the service, including, training records, maintenance records and quality assurance documents were reviewed.

Updated 21 October 2022

About the service

Primrose Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 20 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, there were 15 people using the service.

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

Records around risks to people were not always robust. The provider did not always have effective systems in place to ensure that accurate, up to date and contemporaneous records were kept for people who used the service. Up to date care plans were not always in place and, in areas, care plans were not fully person-centred. There were some gaps in employment records and audits had not identified all the issues found on inspection.

There were enough staff on duty to keep people safe. People were kept safe from the risk of abuse and staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. The service was clean and tidy. The provider and registered manager were committed to learning lessons when things went wrong and improving the quality of care.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. Staff had the right skills, experience and training to safely support people. Staff worked well with other agencies and made timely and appropriate referrals. The service was adapted to meet people’s needs, with different communal spaces for people to use.

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.

Staff were kind and caring. Staff supported people to express their views and make their own decisions. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and encouraged people to be independent wherever possible.

People and relatives were consulted about their care plans. Staff knew people’s verbal and non-verbal communication cues well. People were supported to develop and maintain relationships. There were no restrictions on visiting and visitors were made welcome in the service. There was no activities co-ordinator at the time of the inspection, but recruitment was ongoing. Not everyone had end of life care plans in place, but this had been identified by the registered manager and work around this was ongoing.

There was a positive, kind and caring culture within the home. The registered manager was approachable and supportive. Relatives and people were kept up to date and told if anything went wrong. The registered manager engaged well with staff, people and relatives, through regular meetings and questionnaires.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability.

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 good (report published 19 May 2021). We only reviewed the domains of safe and well-led at the last inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to assess the standard of care delivered by staff.

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.

Enforcement

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 record keeping 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.