Archived: Wicksteed Court Care Home

Updated 22 February 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 under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notice in relation to Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Wicksteed Court Care Home 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. Wicksteed Court Care Home 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 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 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 one person who used the service, two care staff members, the chef, and the registered manager. We viewed documents including staffing rotas and audits.

Updated 22 February 2023

About the service

Wicksteed Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 25 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom live with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people using the service.

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

The provider had failed to achieve good standards within the home across multiple inspections. This service was registered with CQC on 26 October 2017 and in that time has failed to achieve a Good rating. This is the sixth consecutive inspection where the service has received a Requires Improvement rating or lower.

Contingency planning was not in place to manage a period of staff sickness within the home, leading to poor standards of care and cleanliness.

The environment had not been sufficiently cleaned. We found areas within the home which were dirty and needed cleaning, maintenance, and re-decoration.

People were not having their care needs met promptly. Staff were rushed as they had to complete extra duties with cleaning and cooking, as well as care tasks, due to staff sickness.

On the day of inspection, there was a lack of meaningful activity within the home as staff did not have the time to facilitate this. We received mixed feedback from staff about the support they received and morale within the service.

People were not always offered choice of what to eat and drink.

Staff were recruited safely in the service and received suitable induction and ongoing training. Medicines were administered safely by staff who were trained to do so.

A complaints policy and system was in place, and people knew how to use it. People’s preferences, likes and dislikes were documented within care plans, and staff knew people well. End of life information and care planning was documented for those who wished to have it.

Audits and checks were in place throughout the service. Staff and people were able to feedback their views through questionnaires and meetings.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 November 2021). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last six consecutive inspections.

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staffing levels and care. 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.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end 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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, responsive and well led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Wicksteed Court Care home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing levels , person centred care and good governance at this inspection.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.