Britten Court

Updated 10 August 2023

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.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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 undertaken by 2 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

Britten Court 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. Britten Court is a care home which provides nursing care in 2 of the suites. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the 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

We spoke with 8 people who used the service and 3 relatives. We reviewed the care plans and risk assessments for 7 people who used the service and multiple medicines records and records relating to food and fluid and support with repositioning. We observed the interactions between staff and people in the shared areas of the service.

We spoke with 8 staff members including the registered manager, deputy manager, team leaders, domestic, care and nursing staff.

We reviewed a range of records relating to the management and oversight of the service, including complaints, 3 staff recruitment files, training, and audits.

Following our inspection visit, we received electronic feedback from 8 staff members and 1 relative, we also spoke with a person’s relative on the telephone.

Updated 10 August 2023

About the service

Britten Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 80 people. The service provides support to adults who may be living with dementia, mental health and/or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 80 people using the service. The service was an adapted building with 4 suites accommodating 20 people in each, 2 providing nursing care and the other 2 providing residential and dementia care.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability.

There were systems in place to reduce the risks of abuse and avoidable harm. Where incidents happened, the management learned lessons and implemented actions to reduce them happening again. Staff were available when people needed support and staff were recruited safely. The service was clean and hygienic. People were supported to have visits from their family and friends.

People received their medicines when they needed them. Staff had been trained and their competency assessed to ensure medicines administration was undertaken safely.

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.

We received positive feedback from people using the service and relatives about the care provided, the management and staff. The registered manager understood their roles and responsibilities in managing the service and staff told us they felt the service was well-led. The registered manager had a good oversight of the service and the people who used it. Where we had identified improvements needed in the records, this was immediately addressed by the registered manager and their team.

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 good (published 10 November 2017).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the care provided and a notification received from the service regarding moving and handling. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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 Britten Court 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.