Care Home: Astor Court Care Home

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What the care home does well Good systems are in place for assessing and meeting the needs of people living in Astor Court. Individual plans are well developed and kept up to date. Good systems are in place for dealing with complaints and safeguarding matters. Thishelps to keep people safe. The home is well maintained, comfortable and clean making it a pleasant place to live. There are enough trained and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people living in the home. This means that people get the care and support they need. Good management systems are in place and staff feel well supported. This helps them to do their job well and to provide a good service. What the care home could do better: No issues were identified at this inspection. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Astor Court Care Home Lamb Street East Cramlington Northumberland NE23 6SF three star excellent service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Anne UrwinBrown Date: 2 6 1 0 2 0 0 9 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Astor Court Care Home Lamb Street East Cramlington Northumberland NE23 6SF 01670738890 01670738892 astorcourt@schealthcare.com Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mr Kevin Thomas Bailey Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Southern Cross OPCO Ltd care home 43 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 18 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 25 0 The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is 43 The registered person may provide the following categories of service only: Care Home only - Code PC To service users of the following gender: Either Whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Old age, not falling with any other category - Code OP, maximum number of places: 18 Dementia Code DE, maximum number of places: 25 Date of last inspection Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 8 Brief description of the care home Astor Court is a purpose built home in a rural area of Northumberland on a site comprising of two homes: Astor Lodge View and Astor Court. Both homes have only recently been taken over by Southern Cross Healthcare. Astor Lodge was not part of this inspection, having its own separate registration. The village of East Cramlington is a short distance away, with a small range of local amenities including shops, public houses, a post office and Church. The area is served by public transport. The coastal areas of Northumberland and the town centres of Cramlington and Blyth are within easy reach by bus or car. Astor Court is registered to provide care to forty-three older people, twenty-five of whom have dementia. All areas internally and externally are accessible to wheelchair users and all people living at the home are able to enjoy single bedrooms with en suite facilities. Externally, generous car parking is available and the gardens planted with shrubs surround the home . Fees range from £446.60 to £535. There is a Statement of Purpose and Service User Guide in place to inform prospective residents and their relatives about the service provided at Astor Court. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 8 What we found: This service has an excellent three star rating that was last assessed on 27 July 2007. An annual service review was undertaken on 26 July 2009. This random inspection lasted three and a half hours and during that time we looked at how peoples needs are met, staffing arrangements, complaints handling, the premises and management arrangements. Individual plans were in place and provided good clear information about peoples needs and how these are met. There was evidence that peoples needs are regularly assessed and any changes are updated in individual plans. Peoples health care needs are identified in plans and these showed that specialist support is provided where necessary. There is a new manager in post and she said that staff have worked hard to ensure that a good standard of recording is maintained. Good management review systems are used to monitor the quality of plans and records were available to confirm this. Risk assessments were in place and provided good information about how risks were minimised. Good systems are in place for dealing with and recording complaints. Staff have completed safeguarding training. The home is well maintained, clean, odour free and comfortable. Since the new managers appointment thirteen bedrooms have been redecorated. New carpet has been fitted in the lounge upstairs and three bedrooms. There is a planned programme in place to make sure that the home is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Peoples rooms are personalised and show good evidence of their taste and interests. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of the people living in the home at the time of this inspection. People living in the home said that there were enough staff and that they were very kind to them. Staff cover for holidays and sickness is provided by people working additional hours and this works well. Over fifty per cent of staff have a national qualification in care and another seven staff are working towards achieving their qualifications. Records show that staff have regular training to ensure that they have the skills to meet peoples needs and that updating training is provided as necessary. Staff supervision is provided at regular intervals and records confirmed this. Staff said that they feel well supported and that they have regular meetings and are able to put forward their views about the quality of the service. The manager has only been in post for a few months and is committed to providing a high quality service at Astor Court. She has an open style and encourages residents, relatives and staff to make their views known. People living in the home said that they would speak to her if there was an issue they were concerned about. What the care home does well: Good systems are in place for assessing and meeting the needs of people living in Astor Court. Individual plans are well developed and kept up to date. Good systems are in place for dealing with complaints and safeguarding matters. This Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 8 helps to keep people safe. The home is well maintained, comfortable and clean making it a pleasant place to live. There are enough trained and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people living in the home. This means that people get the care and support they need. Good management systems are in place and staff feel well supported. This helps them to do their job well and to provide a good service. What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 8 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 8 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection: Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 8 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. 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