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What the CQC found at Silverpoint Court Residential Care Home

Requires improvementpublished 14 April 2025, 17 months ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, May 2022

Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors rated Safe Inadequate and found serious gaps in risk management, medicines, staffing and oversight.

This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 23 March 2022. Three inspectors spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care and checked records and quality monitoring.

Inspectors found that people were at risk because care plans, risk assessments and daily records were not always accurate. Medicines were not always managed safely, fire safety documents were out of date, and people sometimes waited a long time for help.

The home did have some infection control arrangements in place and worked with health professionals. However, its systems for checking safety, reporting incidents and learning from problems were not effective.

The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection to Requires Improvement. Safe was rated Inadequate and Well-led was rated Requires Improvement. The other key questions were not inspected in this visit, so their previous ratings were used for the overall rating.

What inspectors praised
  • Infection control

    Inspectors were assured about most infection prevention arrangements, including visitors, PPE, testing and outbreak planning.

    “We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections.” from the report
  • Family visits

    Visits from friends and relatives were being supported in line with government guidance.

    “People received regular visits from friends and relatives.” from the report
  • Working with health professionals

    Care plans showed involvement from several health professionals in meeting people's needs.

    “People's care plans evidenced input from the GP, district nurses and speech and language therapists.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Risks and records

    serious

    Care plans and risk assessments were not always accurate or up to date. Daily records did not always show that people had received the support they needed.

    “People's care plans and risk assessments were not up to date or accurate and did not include all relevant information needed for staff to support people safely.” from the report
  • Medicines

    serious

    A medicines trolley was left unattended and some medicines lacked the guidance or labelling staff needed. This was part of a breach of Regulation 12.

    “During our inspection, we observed a medicines trolley left unattended with boxed medicines left on top of the trolley, accessible to anybody walking past.” from the report
  • Staffing and waiting times

    serious

    Staffing calculations did not fully reflect the time needed for medicines. Inspectors saw people waiting for prolonged periods for care and for help moving around the home.

    “During our inspection, we saw people waiting for support with their care.” from the report
  • Management oversight

    serious

    Quality checks did not identify all the problems found during inspection. The home could not show how it monitored risks or ensured care records stayed up to date.

    “The provider did not have effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.” from the report
  • Communication with relatives

    needs fixing

    Some relatives said they were not given enough personal information about the care of their family member.

    “We don't really get any contact or calls, so we only know how [person] is if we call and ask them.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What has been done to make care plans and risk assessments accurate and keep them updated?
  2. 02How are medicines now secured, labelled and supported by clear instructions for staff?
  3. 03What staffing levels are now in place, and how do you prevent people waiting for care or help moving around the home?
  4. 04How are accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns recorded, reported and reviewed for lessons?
  5. 05What changes have been made to keep relatives informed about their family member's care?

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings were carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 May 2022 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, May 2019

Silverpoint Court Residential Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found kind, safe and personalised care, with a temporary lift problem and one documentation gap.

This was an unannounced inspection on 11 April 2019. Two inspectors and an expert by experience visited, spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals, observed care, and checked care records, medicines records, staffing, training, complaints and audits.

The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practice, suitable risk assessments, kind care, good food, activities and effective work with health professionals.

The home had remained Good since the previous inspection, published on 21 December 2016. Inspectors noted that the passenger lift was out of order for part of the visit, and that care plans did not record people's sexuality needs. The report says the legal requirements were met.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind and respectful care

    Staff knew people well and treated them with warmth, dignity and respect. Inspectors saw positive relationships and support for people's independence.

    “Staff knew people well and were kind and sensitive to their needs.” from the report
  • Safe care arrangements

    The home had systems for safe recruitment, managing risks, handling medicines, preventing infection and learning from incidents.

    “People were safe and protected from avoidable harm. Legal requirements were met.” from the report
  • Good support with food

    People were offered varied food and drinks, with staff showing patience when someone was reluctant to eat or drink.

    “People were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.” from the report
  • Personalised care and activities

    Care plans included people's preferences and were reviewed regularly. People could take part in group and one-to-one activities.

    “Care plans were person centred and provided information and guidance to staff.” from the report
  • Strong management and teamwork

    Inspectors found clear roles, regular audits and good cooperation between the home, staff and outside health professionals.

    “The management team completed a full range of quality audits monthly and actions were identified and addressed to bring about improvements.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Passenger lift was unreliable

    needs fixing

    The lift was out of order for part of the inspection. This meant some people could not use the downstairs dining room as usual and created extra work for staff.

    “A new passenger lift had recently been installed. However, on the day of our inspection, it was out of order for part of the day.” from the report
  • Sexuality needs were not recorded

    minor

    Care plans did not include information about people's sexuality needs. The manager said the documentation would be updated and that no one would be discriminated against.

    “Care plans did not contain information on people's sexuality needs.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Has the passenger lift problem been fully resolved, and what is the plan if it breaks down again?
  2. 02What extra support is provided to people who cannot use the stairs when the lift is unavailable?
  3. 03Have care records been updated to include people's sexuality needs and preferences where relevant?
  4. 04How are staffing levels checked when the lift is not working or when people's needs change?
  5. 05Has the electronic care planning system mentioned in the report been introduced, and how has it improved record keeping?

This was an unannounced scheduled inspection covering the overall service and all five CQC questions, including the premises and care provided; all five ratings remained Good from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 May 2019 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Silverpoint Court Residential Care Home

4 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Requires improvement rating throughout.

  1. May 2022Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from Good
    Safe: InadequateEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Silverpoint Court Residential Care Home →

  2. May 2019Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Silverpoint Court Residential Care Home →

  3. December 2016Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. February 2015Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. January 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. August 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. February 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. May 2011

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. January 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 January 2011.

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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