CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Court House Retirement Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, clear risk assessments and safe medicines arrangements. People said they felt safe, and staff had safeguarding training.
- Effective?
- Good
- Care plans were personalised and staff understood people's needs. Inspectors found suitable training, support with food and drink, access to healthcare and care delivered with consent.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and involved them in decisions. This rating fell from Outstanding at the previous inspection.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care was tailored to people's wishes and promoted independence. People had access to activities, communication support, complaint arrangements and planning for end of life care.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found open leadership, regular staff support and effective checks on quality and safety. The home used feedback and concerns to make improvements.
What inspectors found, May 2020
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, although the caring rating fell from Outstanding to Good.
This was an unannounced inspection over two days. One inspector spoke with people living in the home, a relative or friend, a healthcare professional, staff and managers. They also observed care and checked care plans, recruitment records, medicines records, audits and incident records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines systems, clear risk assessments, suitable training and care that respected people's choices, privacy and dignity.
People were involved in decisions about their care, meals, activities and lifestyle. The home had good links with healthcare professionals and community organisations. The overall rating stayed Good compared with the previous inspection, but Caring changed from Outstanding to Good.
Enough staff
Inspectors saw that staff answered bells promptly and had time to talk with people and support activities and mealtimes.
“There were enough staff to look after people safely and take time to sit and chat or join in an activity.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans described people's needs, preferences and risks. Staff understood how people wanted to be supported and helped them keep their independence.
“People received care which was personalised to meet their needs and wishes.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Staff were observed speaking respectfully, protecting privacy and dignity, and taking time to talk with people.
“We observed staff taking time to talk with people. There was a very cheerful atmosphere with people and staff laughing and chatting.” from the report
Community links
The home supported people to continue interests and built links with local groups, a church, a school and other organisations.
“The service had good working links with other resources and organisations in the community to support people's preferences and meet their needs.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you supporting and supervising the relatively new staff team following the recent staff turnover?
- 02How will you make sure my relative's care plan continues to reflect their life history, preferences and changing needs?
- 03How can residents choose activities and keep up their existing hobbies and interests?
- 04How do you support people who want to manage their own medicines, and how is this reviewed?
- 05How would you support my relative at the end of life, including their Treatment Escalation Plan and wishes about hospital admission or resuscitation?
This was an unannounced inspection of the care home covering all five CQC questions, including both the premises and the care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 May 2020 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, July 2017
Court House Retirement Home was rated Good overall, with Outstanding caring, but some safety checks needed fixing.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 6 and 10 July 2017. Inspectors spoke with people living at the home, visitors, staff and a health professional. They looked at care records, staff files, medicines, training, rotas, complaints, accidents and the home’s quality checks.
The home remained Good overall. It was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led, and Outstanding for Caring. Inspectors found enough staff, personalised care, good support with food and healthcare, and kind and respectful relationships.
There were some shortfalls. Two new people did not initially have complete risk assessments. Medicine storage temperatures were not checked daily, some fire safety matters needed further work, and audits had missed some concerns. The home acted on these points during or soon after the inspection.
Kind and respectful care
People and visitors described staff as kind, patient and respectful. Inspectors saw staff protecting privacy and encouraging independence.
“Staff treat residents kindly and respect is high on the list. They are always calm and have so much patience” from the report
Personal choice
People could choose where to eat, what support they wanted and how they spent their time. Staff adapted support when people’s needs changed.
“People were encouraged to make choices and these were respected at all times.” from the report
Going beyond expected care
Staff made extra arrangements for family visits, celebrations and a person returning from hospital.
“People received care which demonstrated staff and the management went above and beyond for them.” from the report
Personalised activities
Activities reflected people’s hobbies and interests and included opportunities to remain involved in the local community.
“All activities centred on people's interests and needs.” from the report
Good food and healthcare support
People had meal choices and special diets were supported. Staff contacted health professionals when needed and followed their advice.
“We get a choice of meals. We fill in a menu choice sheet every week.” from the report
Incomplete new risk assessments
seriousTwo people who had recently moved in did not initially have complete risk assessments. These were completed by the end of the inspection, but staff had not initially had full guidance.
“However, two people had recently moved in whose risk assessments were incomplete.” from the report
Medicine storage temperature
seriousThe temperature of one medicine storage room was not checked daily. The home started daily checks and took other steps during the inspection.
“However, the room some medicines were stored in did not have the temperature checked daily.” from the report
Fire safety planning
seriousFire risk assessments did not cover some measures to slow smoke spread or support people with poor mobility to leave safely. The home sought advice and began making improvements.
“these had not considered some safety measures which could help slow the spread of smoke in the event of a fire” from the report
Recruitment records
needs fixingSome staff files did not contain a full employment history as required at the time. The home said it had resolved this and changed its recruitment process.
“However, we found some staff did not have a full employment history in line with current legislation.” from the report
Quality checks missed issues
needs fixingThe home had audits, but they had sometimes failed to identify concerns later found during the inspection. Management acted on these concerns.
“However, these audits had occasionally missed concerns found during the inspection.” from the report
- 01How do you now make sure risk assessments are complete before or soon after a new person moves in?
- 02How are medicine storage temperatures checked and recorded every day?
- 03What changes were made after the fire and rescue service’s advice about door seals and evacuation?
- 04How do your audits now make sure they identify the issues inspectors previously found?
- 05How do you make sure new staff files contain a full employment history?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions and the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 29 July 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Court House Retirement Home
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- May 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 26 March 2013.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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76 live-in carers within about two hours of Somerset
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,020 to £1,370 a week. 62 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“She looked after my mum, who can be incredibly challenging, so well and so gently, and we always felt confident that my mum was getting the best care available.”
“She was not phased by anything, she was adaptable, kind & gave us complete confidence to go away & not worry about a thing!”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.