Morton Cottage Residential Home

People and relatives spoke positively about the staff. Inspectors saw staff spending time with people and providing help in a patient, unhurried way.

“There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs including their emotional and social needs.” from the report

People were offered a choice of dishes and dining times. Staff provided gentle and unrushed help when people needed assistance with meals.

“People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain their health.” from the report

Staff sought consent and supported people to make decisions where they could. Appropriate applications had been made where people lacked capacity and needed safeguards.

“People were involved in decisions about their care where they had capacity to do so.” from the report

Some routine checks of the building had lapsed, including fire alarm tests and hot water temperature checks. Risk assessments did not always identify the action needed when people's circumstances changed.

“Some routine safety checks to the premises had lapsed, including fire alarm tests and hot water temperature checks.” from the report

The local authority infection control officer found areas of the building and equipment that needed cleaning. The provider took urgent action and had a plan for the remaining work.

“These related to areas of the premises and equipment that required cleaning.” from the report

The home could not show all recruitment checks for newer staff. Training records did not show when refresher training had been completed.

“The provider was unable to show records of the checks and clearances for the safe recruitment of newer staff.” from the report

Audits and other records had fallen behind, making it harder to show that risks and service quality were being properly monitored. The provider had begun to reinstate the checks.

“The provider's quality assurance systems to manage risk and monitor quality had not been followed.” from the report

There were gaps in records about storage temperatures and guidance for medicines given when needed. The report found no evidence that this affected people, and the provider addressed the points after the inspection.

“We found some minor recording gaps during this inspection, mainly relating to medicines storage temperatures and 'as and when' medicines guidance.” from the report