CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Hallmark Admiral Court Luxury Care Home
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home was preventing infections, using PPE safely, providing testing and managing admissions, visits and possible outbreaks.
- Effective?
- Outstanding
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
What inspectors found, July 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection prevention and control arrangements.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 16 June 2021. It looked only at infection prevention and control because the home had been responding to COVID-19 risks.
Inspectors found that visits were arranged safely, the home was very clean, and people were admitted using current government guidance. Staff had suitable personal protective equipment, and people, staff and visitors had access to testing.
The home had risk assessments for COVID-19, supported social distancing, and had spaces for safe meals and activities. Inspectors said they were assured that the home met good infection prevention and control guidelines.
The home was inspected but not rated. This report therefore does not provide an overall rating or ratings for the wider quality of care.
Safe visiting
The home had arrangements for family and friends to visit safely, including temperature checks, PPE and a designated visitors room.
“Arrangements were in place for family and friends to access the service safely for visits.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the home very clean, with records showing that cleaning had been completed, including cleaning of high-touch areas.
“The service was very clean. There were cleaning schedules in place showing when cleaning had taken place including high touch areas and deep cleaning.” from the report
Managing infection risks
The home used risk assessments, social distancing and different spaces for meals and activities to help manage COVID-19 risks.
“Staff, people using the service and visitors had access to COVID-19 testing which was being carried out as per government guidance.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How have the safe visiting arrangements described in the report changed since June 2021?
- 02How often are high-touch areas cleaned, and can we see the current cleaning records?
- 03How are PPE supplies and COVID-19 testing managed now for staff, residents and visitors?
- 04What current risk assessments are in place for infection outbreaks?
- 05How are new residents admitted safely if there is an infectious illness outbreak?
This was an unannounced targeted inspection of infection prevention and control only; the service was inspected but not rated and the other care quality questions were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 July 2021 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, April 2020
Admiral Court rated Outstanding; inspectors found exceptional, person-centred care, with safety rated Good.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 12 February 2020. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and visiting health and social care professionals. They also checked care plans, medicines records, staff files and quality records.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. Effective care, caring, responsiveness and leadership were all rated Outstanding. Inspectors found kind staff, very detailed personal care, creative support for people living with dementia, excellent activities and strong links with health professionals and the community.
Safety was rated Good. Inspectors found safe medicines management, suitable staffing, clear risk plans, good infection control and thorough learning from incidents. The home had improved from Good at the previous inspection, published on 24 October 2018. Effective, caring and responsive care improved from Good, while well-led improved from Requires Improvement.
Personalised care
Care plans contained detailed information about people's interests, histories, preferences and ways of communicating. Staff used this knowledge to create meaningful, individual activities.
“People received outstandingly person centred and individualised care from a motivated, informed and exceptionally well led staff team.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
People, relatives and professionals consistently praised staff for their kindness, compassion and respect. Staff supported dignity, independence and personal choices.
“Staff at all levels were described as exceptionally kind and caring and the provider encouraged staff and people to be kind in everything they did.” from the report
Dementia support
The home used specialist training and creative approaches to reduce distress and support independence. This included Montessori activities, sensory support and efforts to reduce the use of antipsychotic medicines.
“The provider had heavily invested in staff training and development in best practice innovations which had resulted in significantly improved outcomes for people, particularly those living with dementia.” from the report
Food and health support
People had access to varied food and support with eating and drinking. Staff worked with dietitians, speech and language therapists, GPs and dementia specialists to respond to health needs.
“People had excellent access to a balanced and varied diet.” from the report
Strong leadership and improvement
The home had robust checks on care quality and used incidents, feedback and new approaches to improve. Leadership had improved substantially since the previous inspection.
“An outstanding feature of this service was the continuous effort to learn and improve care for people.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How do you currently make sure there are enough staff when residents' needs change?
- 02How are medicines, including as-required medicines, reviewed and checked now?
- 03Which dementia approaches and activities would you use for my relative, and how would you measure whether they help?
- 04How would you support my relative's dietary, communication and health needs, including referrals to outside professionals?
- 05How would you involve our family in care planning and in decisions about end-of-life wishes?
This was an unannounced planned inspection that looked at the premises and care and assessed all five CQC questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 4 April 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.
Every inspection of Hallmark Admiral Court Luxury Care Home
4 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Outstanding.
- July 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Hallmark Admiral Court Luxury Care Home →
- April 2020Outstandingup from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
Read what inspectors found at Hallmark Admiral Court Luxury Care Home →
- August 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2016Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 29 May 2012.
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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51 live-in carers within about an hour of Southend-on-Sea
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Most charge £960 to £1,200 a week. 44 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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