The Grange and Elm Court

Updated 3 November 2020

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.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

This inspection took place on 7 October 2020 and was announced. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 3 November 2020

This comprehensive inspection took place on 30 January 2019 and was unannounced.

The Grange and Elm 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. The service can accommodate up to 43 people with mental health needs. The Grange is staffed 24 hours a day, whilst Elm Court provides support during the day for people who are more independent.

At the last comprehensive inspection in July 2016, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

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

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

People continued to be safe. All people we spoke with said they felt safe and staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm.

Staff had been safely recruited and there were enough staff to meet people's needs.

Risk were managed to ensure peoples safety. Risk management plans were in place to guide staff on the action to take to mitigate any identified risks.

People received their medicines as prescribed. However, documentation could be improved.

People had access to healthcare support. People received a nutritious and balanced diet and their dietary needs and choices were met.

The service was predominately clean and maintained. However, there were some areas that could be improved. We found these had been identified as part of the provides’ audit systems and were included in the homes environmental action plan.

People continued to be supported by staff to make their own decisions and choices. Staff were knowledgeable and understood the principles of The Mental Capacity Act.

Incidents and accidents were monitored effectively. There were arrangements in place for the service to make sure that action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service.

People spoke positively about the relationships they had with the staff team. People told us staff were kind and caring, maintained their dignity and respected them.

Care plans detailed peoples needs and people were involved in developing their plans. The registered manager was in the process of developing more person-centred plans so they were individualised and contained people's choices and decisions.

There was a varied and appropriate activity programme and people had regular access to the community.

The service had an open and inclusive culture which encouraged communication and learning. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive improvement.

There were policies in place that ensured people would be listened to and treated fairly if they complained about the service.

The registered provider and registered manager continued to effectively monitor and audit the quality and safety of the service and that people who used the service and their relatives were involved in the development of the home and were able to contribute ideas.

Further information is in the detailed findings below