Laureate Court

Updated 29 January 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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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 two inspectors 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

Laureate Court is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 6 January 2022 and ended on 19 January 2022. We visited the home on 6 January 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with ten members of staff including the registered manager, director of operations, deputy manager, care workers, nurses and a cook. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with four relatives via telephone.

Updated 29 January 2022

About the service

Laureate Court is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 43 people at the time of the inspection. Some people were living with dementia. The service can support up to 84 people.

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

People living at the home were safe. Risks associated with their care and support had been identified and actions taken to mitigate risks. The provider had a dependency tool which was used to identify the number of staff required. We found there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed to identify trends and patterns. People received their medicines as prescribed. The registered manager had identified some actions as part of the auditing process and was introducing new systems to support staff to record more effectively.

Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding and confirmed they had received training in this subject. They knew what actions to take if they suspected abuse.

People told us they were happy, and that staff were kind, caring and compassionate and all our observations confirmed this. People’s physical and emotional needs were met. The provider had worked with external health and social care professionals to assess and review people's care in line with best practice guidance. People were supported to maintain their nutrition and hydration.

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; however, systems in place required further development to ensure best interest decisions were made in line with current guidance.

Systems in place to monitor the service needed to be further developed and embedded into practice. Audits in place had not always identified the issues raised on inspection. Where some issues had been identified, action had been taken to resolve them. The registered manager and provider took swift actions to address the concerns we raised. The concerns did not impact on people who used the service.

A newly appointed registered manager was in post and had made some positive changes within the home. Since the registered manager had been in post, they had improved the audit system and their audits had identified shortfalls which had not been previously identified by the regional managers. There had been several changes and lack of consistency in regional managers, this evidenced a lack of provider oversight. The management team and staff knew their roles and responsibilities. People and relatives, we spoke with were complimentary about the management and staff team.

The home had recently undergone refurbishment and some areas required completion. The environment for people living with dementia could be improved to ensure signage and decoration of the home promoted their independence. The registered manager informed us that this had been identified and action was being taken.

We were somewhat assured that the provider was promoting safety through the layout and hygiene practices of the premises. Following our inspection, the provider took action to address these concerns, which minimised the impact on people using the service.

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 15/02/2021 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was rated requires improvement, published on 24/04/2020.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection of a newly registered service. We inspected the service to assist in releasing capacity in the sector.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for laureate Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.