Augustus Court is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care under a contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection.

Augustus Court is registered to provide accommodation for people who require personal care and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 53 people in receipt of care from the service.

This inspection took place on 27 June and 3 July 2018 and was unannounced.

At the last inspection in September 2017 the service was rated inadequate overall as we found safeguarding concerns had not always been acted upon and incidents that had not been recorded which meant processes were not followed in accordance with the provider’s policies to keep people safe from avoidable harm and alleged abuse. Statutory notifications were not always submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required and risk assessments did not always reflect people's needs. Complaints had not always been responded to in a timely manner, or at times not recorded. We also identified shortfalls in recording. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what steps they would take to improve and by when.

At this inspection we found the provider had taken appropriate steps to make the required improvements and that these had been sustained since our last inspection. The provider was no longer in breach of regulations 12, 16 and 17. We found incidents, accidents and safeguarding concerns were being managed effectively with the relevant notifications being sent to the CQC. Risk assessments had been carried out when there was a need and reviewed on a regular basis. We found record keeping had improved within medicines and repositioning charts however, there were still some ongoing recording issues within care records and we have therefore made a recommendation for these to be improved.

At the time of this inspection there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People using the service felt safe and staff had a clear understanding of how to protect people from any harm. Staff were provided with annual safeguarding and whistleblowing training. There was a policy in place for staff to follow and report concerns, we found incidents relating to alleged abuse had been reported and the local safeguarding team involved when required. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and reported. This followed the provider’s policy on effectively managing incidents to prevent re-occurrence.

Medicines were managed effectively and all medicines stored correctly in line with the provider’s policy.

Health and safety checks were carried out to ensure the safety of the premises and the home was kept clean.

Staffing levels were satisfactory to meet people's needs and recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were of suitable good character to work in a care setting. There was an induction programme for new staff and staff completed training on a regular basis to ensure their knowledge and skills were up to date.

Initial assessments were carried out before a person moved to the home and following this individualised care plans were created to ensure people’s needs were met. Care plans were reviewed regularly or when people’s needs changed.

People told us that staff maintained their privacy and dignity whilst promoting their independence when possible. We observed practices that supported this feedback.

People were encouraged to remain independent and to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way poss

This inspection took place on 18 and 21 August 2017 and was unannounced. We extended our inspection due to concerns raised with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and attended for another day on 3 September 2017. The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service was involved in a serious safeguarding incident. This incident is subject to a criminal investigation. The information shared with the CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk relating to safeguarding and this inspection examined those risks. The provider told us the local authority requested they complete an internal investigation which has now been initiated.

Augustus Court is a residential home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 57 people living in the home. The provider registered with the CQC in February 2016 and this was their first inspection.

During our inspection there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We identified breaches of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities); you can see what action we told the provider to take at the end of the full version of the report. Full information about the CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during the inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded. The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures.’

Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service, will be inspected again within six months.

The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe. If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve. This service will continue to be kept under review and, if needed, could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement so there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action to prevent the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration.

For adult social care services the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.

We found the registered manager had not acted on safeguarding concerns that had been raised and that incidents and accidents were not always recorded which meant processes were not followed in accordance with the provider’s policies and no actions were taken to keep people safe from avoidable harm and alleged abuse.

Statutory notifications were not always submitted to the Care Quality Commission as required. Services that provide health and social care to people are required to inform the CQC of important events that happen in the service in the form of a