Archived: McGowan Court

Updated 7 April 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 5 March 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location was a service for people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is someone who has an expertise in this area.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, including the notifications we had received from the registered provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send us within required timescales. We also contacted the local authority commissioners for the service and the local Healthwatch to gain their views of the service provided. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We spoke with five people who used the service. We looked at two care plans and three staff files. We looked at how medicines were managed. We spoke with the manager, the practice development lead, the head of adult services, the clinical lead, and two nurses. We also looked at other records that supported the running of the service.

Updated 7 April 2018

This inspection took place on 5 March 2018 and was announced.

McGowan Court is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. McGowan Court accommodated eight people at the time of the inspection.

The service was last inspected on February 2016 and the rating for this inspection was Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service had a manager in place who was going through the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They started in post in December 2017.

People's care records contained clear and easy to understand information about people's needs and risks and how to support them effectively. We saw people were provided with one to one support meetings on a weekly basis and more often if their mental health was declining.

We found some concerns regarding the recording of medicine administration. The manager had also found the same concerns and produced an action plan. This demonstrated that the recording of medicine administration would be improved. We have made a recommendation with medicines.

People were supported to access health care professionals when needed. The provider had taken steps to minimise the risk of abuse because staff knew how to identify and report it.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff began work. Staff told us they received training to be able to carry out their role. Staff received effective supervision and a yearly appraisal.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to achieve their goals and aspirations.

People received a varied and nutritional diet and were complimentary of the food provided.

The interactions between people and staff showed that staff knew the people really well. Staff we spoke with had a good knowledge of people's needs and talked about people with genuine affection. The atmosphere at the home was homely, relaxed and nurturing. It was clear that people felt relaxed and comfortable in the company of staff.

The management team were approachable and they and the staff team worked in collaboration with external agencies to provide good outcomes for people. Processes were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided and drive improvement.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.