Archived: Middleton Court

Updated 8 March 2016

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 22 January 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the home. We looked at the notifications and other information the Care Quality Commission had received about the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law. We used all of this information to plan how the inspection would be conducted.

During our inspection we spoke with three people who were staying at the home, four members of staff including the registered manager, and a visiting healthcare professional. We looked at three care plans and four staff personnel files as well as other documentation about the running of the home. We looked around the building, including the kitchen and bathroom areas, and some people’s bedrooms.

Updated 8 March 2016

This inspection took place on 22 January 2016 and was unannounced.

Middleton Court care home is based in Speke, Liverpool. It is registered to provide accommodation for up to 10 people who need personal care. The building is owned by Anchor Trust. The care and support is provided by staff employed by Liverpool City Council. The home is on the first floor of a large building, which also provides other services. The home provides services to older people who need rehabilitation after a stay in hospital.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The provider did not always ensure robust recruitment checks were in place for staff who worked at the home.

Everyone who was staying in the care home told us that they felt safe and secure. There were safeguarding procedures in place, including an up to date safeguarding policy. Staff we spoke with could clearly explain the action they would take if they felt someone was being abused.

There were safe procedures for the storing and administration of medication. The staff who administered the medication had training to be able to do this and records showed accurate recording of medication.

There was a detailed initial assessment process in place following people’s discharge from hospital before they stayed at the home. This included risk assessments and any identified medical needs that people had.

The building was clean and tidy and there were no odours or clutter. The home was adapted well to suit people’s needs whilst they were recovering.

The people staying at the home during our inspection had full capacity; therefore there were no Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) in place. The registered manager and the staff demonstrated a good understanding of this subject and told us they would act accordingly if people’s capacity changed during their stay.

People told us they had regular meals and were complimentary about the food. We were able to sample the food and found it tasted nice and looked appetising.

We observed staff treating people with respect and could hear caring and friendly conversations taking place between staff and people in the home. People gave us examples of how staff treated them with dignity and respect.

Each person who stayed at the home had a file which contained information with regards to their likes and dislikes. People told us they had different levels of need, and we could see how the staff were providing diverse support to reflect these needs.

There had been no complaints in the last 12 months. We could see there was a complaints procedure in place and this was displayed on the notice board in reception. The registered manager also showed us examples of the complaints procedure.

People who lived at the home and the staff spoke positively about the registered manager and the staff team.

Quality assurance systems that were in place showed continuous improvements being made in the delivery of care. All of the feedback we saw from 2015 was positive.

There was evidence of good professional relationships between the management of the home and the local GP surgery and pharmacist. Both professionals regularly attended the home in a professional capacity.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.