This inspection took place on 7 and 12 November 2018. The first day was unannounced.

Arden Court is owned by Wellington Healthcare (Arden) Ltd and is located on a busy main road in Eccles, Greater Manchester. The home provides care for people with nursing, residential and continuing care needs. The home is close to local shops, bus routes and has adequate car parking facilities located at the front of the building.

At the time of the inspection there were 37 people living at the home.

Arden Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This was the first comprehensive inspection we had undertaken at Arden Court. This was because the provider, Wellington Healthcare (Arden) Ltd re-registered with CQC in April 2018 and any previous inspection ratings were not retained. This inspection was also carried out in response to information of concern we had received about the care being provided at the home.

At this inspection we identified three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 with regards to safe care and treatment and good governance (two parts of this regulation). You can see what action we have asked the home to take at the end of this report.

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.

Medication was not always stored, recorded, administered and disposed of safely.

From checking records maintained within the home, it was not always clear if people were receiving foods of the correct consistency, which could place people at risk of choking and aspiration.

People’s pressure relieving equipment (to keep their skin safe) was not always being used correctly. This included pressure relieving mattresses being operated at the wrong settings.

Accurate and contemporaneous records were not always maintained by staff. This made it difficult to establish if people’s care needs were being met.

Quality monitoring systems needed to be improved to ensure the concerns found during this inspection were identified and acted upon in a timely way through the homes own internal auditing systems.

The premises were being well maintained, with regular servicing checks of equipment and the building carried out. The home was clean and tidy throughout, with infection control procedures followed as required.

People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe. There were appropriate risk assessments in place for people, with guidance on how to minimise risk. Staff recruitment was robust with appropriate checks undertaken before staff started working at the home.

We found staff received sufficient training, supervision and induction to support them in their role. The staff we spoke with told us they were happy with the training they received and felt supported to undertake their work.

We found the home worked closely with other health professionals and made appropriate referrals if there were concerns. Details of any visits from other professionals were recorded within people’s care plans.

Appropriate systems were in place regarding Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People told us they enjoyed the food and we saw people being supported to eat and drink, throughout the day.

We received positive feedback from people we spoke with about the care provided at the home. People said they felt treated with dignity and we observed staff treating people with respect during the inspection.