The Martins

Updated 13 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.

Service and service type

The Martins 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. The Martins 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 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

During the inspection we spoke with eight people who used the service, four relatives and seven staff, including the registered manager.

We reviewed four care records, medicines administration records (MAR) and four staff recruitment and training records. We also reviewed other records, including policies and procedures, and records relating to the quality and safety monitoring of the service.

Updated 13 October 2022

About the service

The Martins is a residential care home providing accommodation, and personal care for up to 42 people across two floors consisting of four units. The service also provides specialist care to people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people using the service.

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

The management team conducted a variety of audits to assess the quality and safety of care provided. Managers and staff demonstrated a positive culture which was person-centred. The management team investigated incidents fully, and actions were identified to make improvements.

Managers and staff were clear about their roles; however, further work was needed to ensure the Care Quality Commission [CQC] was notified of significant events within timescales as required.

People, their relatives and staff were involved and engaged in the service. The provider had systems in place to monitor and review the service. The provider was working with health and social care professionals to meet people’s health, welfare and social needs.

There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs at the time of our inspection. Staff were safely recruited and checks were made on their suitability.

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.

Relatives spoke positively about the caring culture of the service and said their loved ones were safe and well supported. They also told us the service was managed well, communication was good and their opinions were sought in the planning and review of people’s care and treatment.

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 outstanding (published 26 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

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.

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 outstanding to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Martins 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.