Duke’s Court Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Duke’s Court is registered to accommodate 60 older people; at the time of our inspection there were 58 people living in the home.

At the last inspection this service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good. The inspection took place on the 13 December 2017 and was unannounced.

The service is required to have a registered manager. 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. A registered manager was not in post at the time of the inspection; however, a manager had been appointed who was in the process of applying to be the registered manager. The deputy manager was managing the home on a day to day basis with the support of the registered provider.

People continued to be treated with respect, kindness and empathy. The staff were friendly, caring and compassionate. Positive relationships had been developed between the people and staff. People had detailed personalised care plans in place which enabled staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. People were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision and training that they required to work effectively in their roles. Development of staff knowledge and skills was encouraged. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the home supported this practice. There were a variety of activities available for people to participate in if they wished to and groups from the local community were welcomed to take part in events at the home.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The provider was committed to develop the service and actively looked at ways to continuously improve the service. There were effective quality assurance systems and audits in place; action was taken to address any shortfalls.

People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.

The inspection took place on 2 December 2015 and was unannounced. The service was registered in December 2014 and this was the first inspection of the service. It is situated on the outskirts of the Wellingborough Town Centre and provides care for up to 60 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 48 people were using the service.

The service had 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.

The staff had a good understanding of what constituted abuse and of the safeguarding procedures to follow should they need to report any abuse.

Risks were appropriately managed to ensure that people were supported to make choices and take risks.

Staff had been recruited following safe and robust procedures and there were sufficient numbers of suitable staff available to keep people safe and meet their needs.

Systems were in place to monitor accidents and incidents so that preventative action could be taken to reduce the number of occurrences.

Robust arrangements were in place for the safe administration and management of medicines.

Staff had the skills and knowledge needed to support people appropriately and had regular training updates to maintain their skills. A programme of staff supervision and annual appraisals enabled the staff to reflect on their work practice and plan their learning and development needs.

People’s consent was sought before providing their care and treatment. People who lacked capacity to make decisions were supported following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People benefitted from having a balanced and varied diet. Their dietary needs were monitored and advice was sought from appropriate health professionals when needed.

People had regular access to healthcare professionals and were supported to attend health appointments.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion, dignity and respect.

People had individualised and detailed care plans in place, which reflected their needs and choices on how they wanted their care and support to be provided.

Social, leisure and purposeful activities were provided for people to meet their individual needs and aspirations.

People and their representatives were encouraged to provide feedback on the service; complaints were taken seriously and responded to immediately.

The service was led by a registered manager who continually strived to provide a good quality service. The vision and values were person-centred. People and their representatives were supported to be involved and in control of their care.

Effective management systems were in place to continually monitor the quality of the service.