Stratton Court

Date of assessment: 28 May to 11 June 2024 This was a responsive assessment to follow up on concerns we received about the care and safety of people who lived at Stratton Court. During this assessment, we found 3 breaches of regulations in relation to infection control, recruitment of staff and good governance including record keeping. During our site visit, we found positive interactions between people and staff. However, we were not fully assured people’s needs were always met, as we found gaps in the recording of the delivery of people’s care. Through our observations and feedback from relatives, we found parts of the home had not been effectively cleaned and maintained to ensure effective prevention and infection control measures were in place. The provider had not always followed their own recruitment processes and ensured staff’s previous health and social care employment histories had been fully checked. The provider’s systems and processes to ensure good governance were not operated effectively. Staff were trained in their role and confident in raising any concerns or changes in people’s health with senior staff and nurses. We observed good staff interactions with people living with dementia. Staff knew people well and effectively engaged with people to reduce their anxieties. Concerns about staffing levels in the home were raised by some staff, people’s relatives and visiting professionals. The provider had systems in place such as daily and departmental meetings to monitor the running of the home. Progress was being made to enhance the home's auditing systems and take prompt action as needed. The registered manager and provider was responsive to our assessment feedback; however further time was needed to ensure their actions were embedded and effective in driving improvement. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.