Dalby Court Residential Care Home

Updated 12 December 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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 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

Dalby Court Residential 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. Dalby Court Residential 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

The 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 13 people who used the service and 3 relatives. We also spoke with 3 professionals. We spent some time observing and listening to staff interactions with people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and 2 members of care staff.

We conducted a visual inspection of the building and looked at a wide variety of records. These included people’s care and medicine records, monitoring documentation, staff files and audits used to monitor the service.

Following the inspection site visit we also contacted a further 7 members of staff to request feedback on the service provided.

Updated 12 December 2023

About the service

Dalby Court Residential Care Home is a care home providing personal care to up to 66 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. The home has 2 floors. The ground floor provides accommodation for residential care and the first floor provides accommodation for people living with dementia. At the time of this inspection, 59 people were living at the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People told us they felt safe living at Dalby Court Residential Care Home. Staff had received safeguarding training and processes were in place to ensure any safeguarding concerns were reported, investigated and acted upon.

Risks to people had been assessed and recorded. Where people’s needs changed, records had been updated to reflect this.

Medicines were stored, recorded and administered safely. Thorough processes were in place to monitor medicine management.

Staff were recruited safely and provided with effective support and training to ensure they had the skills required for their role. Staff spoke highly of the management team and support they provided.

The home was clean and tidy throughout and staff followed good infection, prevention and control measures. A refurbishment plan was in place and recent improvements had been completed to windows, bathrooms and shower rooms. Further improvements were ongoing on the dementia unit within the home including new signage and redecoration.

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.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. There were plenty of options available at mealtimes and snacks were served throughout the day. Where concerns had been identified in relation to weight loss, actions had been put in place to manage this.

People’s care and support needs were closely monitored, and prompt action was taken to seek support and guidance from relevant professionals. Professionals spoke highly of the service and the support provided.

There was an open and honest culture within the service. Thorough quality assurance systems meant any issues or errors were quickly identified and addressed.

People, relatives and staff were regularly asked to provide feedback on the service provided. Any feedback was listened to and action taken where possible.

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 20 August 2022).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of people’s care and support needs, staff training and infection control. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dalby Court Residential Care Home 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.