Queens Court is registered to provide accommodation for up to 55 people who require personal care. Nursing care is not provided. At the time of our inspection there were 51 people living in the home. The home is located in the village of Bottisham, near Cambridge. The home is divided into four units, Windsor, Osbourne, Balmoral and Sandringham. Shops and other amenities are a short walk away. The home has wheelchair access for those who may require this.

This unannounced inspection took place on 18 April 2017.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

Action had been taken to minimise the risks to people. Risk assessments identified risks and provided staff with the information they needed to reduce risks were possible. Staff were following the correct procedures when administrating, recording and storing medication so that people received their medication as prescribed. Staff were aware of the procedures to follow if they thought anyone had been harmed.

Staff were only employed after they completed a thorough recruitment procedure. There were enough staff on shift to ensure that people had their needs met in a timely manner. Staff received the training they required to meet people’s needs and were supported in their roles.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. The provider had completed some capacity assessments and DoLS applications. The provider could demonstrate how they supported people to make decisions about their care and the principles of the MCA were being followed.

Staff were highly motivated to provide care that was kind and compassionate. They knew people well and were aware of their history, preferences, likes and dislikes. People’s privacy and dignity were respected. A “Seize the day” initiative had been implemented which gave people the opportunity to try something they had always wanted to do. Staff spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities that they had been given and said that people had really enjoyed the experiences that had been created for them.

Staff monitored people’s health and welfare needs and acted on issues identified. People had been referred to healthcare professionals when needed. People were provided with a choice of food and drink that they enjoyed. People were given the right amount of support to enable them to eat and drink.

There was a varied programme of activities including in- house group activities, one-to-one activities, entertainers and trips out. Staff supported people to maintain their interests and their links with the local community to promote social inclusion.

Care plans gave staff the information they required to meet people’s care and support needs. People receive support in the way that they preferred and met their individual needs.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people and their relatives felt confident to raise any concerns either with the staff or manager. Complaints had been dealt with appropriately.

There was an effective quality assurance process in place which included obtaining the views of people that lived in the home and their relatives. Where needed action had been taken to make improvements to the service being offered.

Queens Court is registered to provide accommodation for up to 55 people who require personal care. Nursing care is not provided. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people living in the home. The home is located in the village of Bottisham, near Cambridge. The home is divided into four units, Windsor, Osbourne, Balmoral and Sandringham. Shops and other amenities are a short walk away. The home has wheelchair access for those who may require this.

This unannounced inspection took place on 18 March 2016.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 scheme is run.

People had their needs assessed and reviewed so that staff knew how to meet their care needs. People’s care plans were completed and reviewed with them or their relative.

The risk of harm for people was reduced because staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. There was a sufficient number of staff to meet the care needs of people living in the home. Satisfactory pre-employment checks were completed before staff were employed to care for people in the home.

People were supported to be as safe as possible because assessments had been completed for all risks and how they were managed. This meant staff had the information they needed to reduce risks.

The CQC monitors the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care services. Staff were trained in the principles of the MCA and DoLS and could describe how people were supported to make best interest decisions. The registered manager had made applications so that people were not deprived of their liberty unlawfully.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and medicines were safely managed.

An effective induction process was in place to support new staff and further training was provided to ensure all staff had the necessary expertise to meet people’s needs.

People did not always have sufficient food and drink of their choice throughout the day. Although staff knew people’s likes and dislikes they were not always taken into account. People were supported by kind, caring and happy staff. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff.

People’s food and fluid charts were not fully completed. A range of audit and quality assurance procedures were in place. These were used as a means of identifying areas for improvement and also where good practice had been established. Information to assess the quality of the service was gained through residents’ and relatives’ meetings, quality questionnaires and staff meetings.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

During this inspection we spoke with eight people who used the service, six relatives and six members of staff. People who used the service told us that were very happy with the care they received and that they felt safe. One person stated that: “I love it here there is always lots to do and we can make our own decisions about whether to go or not”.

We found that consent had been recorded within people’s care plans and that people's care and support needs were well documented.

We saw that people were given appropriate choices in food and drink. They were given support to prepare and serve the meals.

Medication storage and records were well maintained.

Staff told us they felt supported and had received the required training to carry out their roles in supporting people.

Effective recruitment procedures were in place which protected people who received care and support at Queens Court.

During our inspection of Queens Court on 14 September 2012 we used a number of different methods to help us understand the experience of people using the service, because some of the people using the service had complex needs which meant that they were not able to tell us their experiences. For part of the inspection we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

People we spoke with told us how happy they were at Queens Court. One person said, “I’m very happy here – I hope to stay here for the rest of my life”. Another person told us, “I like it here. You make good friends in here and I can go out when I want to”. People were able to make choices in all aspects of their lives, including the care and treatment they received. People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity were maintained. Care records were personalised. Care plans we looked at gave staff good details about the care each person needed, other than one plan, which had not been adequately updated.

We looked at some of the cards and letters that had been sent to thank the home for the care given. People were effusive in their praise of the care given and of the staff. One person wrote, “My sincere thanks for my most happy stay at Queens Court. Also to the wonderful staff who all do a marvellous job”. Another wrote, “This is a wonderful home, with wonderful people”. There had been no complaints.

People told us they liked the food, they felt safe at Queens Court and they thought the staff were very good. We saw that staff had the right skills to work well with people who were living with dementia. Staff told us this was a good place to work. They were suitably trained, had the skills to care for people properly and generally there were enough staff on duty. One member of staff said, “I feel really at home and really happy here – it’s the best choice [of job] that I could have made”.

We observed that in their different ways, people showed that they were content living at this home and that they had good relationships with the staff. They showed that they felt safe, and were satisfied with the service being provided.

During this inspection we found that the provider had made improvements in relation to medicines, which we had identified were needed following our inspection in January 2012.

People we spoke with told us that staff were polite and kind, they knocked before entering bedrooms and called people by their preferred names. They confirmed that they did not have to wait to be assisted.

One person who was staying at the home on a short term basis said, "It's lovely here, the staff are lovely".