Radis Community Care (Millbrook House)

Updated 31 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One Inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Radis Community Care (Millbrook House) provides personal care to people living ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the both the registered manager and the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection visit we looked at information we held about the service and used this information as part of our inspection planning. The information included notifications. Notifications are information on important events that happen in the service that the provider must let us know about. In July 2018 the provider had sent us a completed provider information return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used information from this to assist us with our planning.

During the inspection-

We saw how the staff interacted with people who used the service. We spoke with four people who received personal care. We spoke with three members of care staff and the registered manager. We looked at two people’s care records as well as other records relating to the management of the service, such as medicine administration records and internal audits.

Updated 31 August 2019

About the service

Radis Community Care (Millbrook House) provides personal care to people living in ‘extra care’ housing.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe and were protected as far as possible by staff who were competent to recognise and report any avoidable harm or abuse. Potential risks to people had been assessed and measures put in place to minimise the risks.

There were enough staff to make sure people were safe, and their needs met in a timely manner. Pre-employment checks were completed on staff before they were assessed to be suitable to look after people who used the service. Staff understood their responsibility to report any accidents and incidents. These were analysed by the registered manager on a monthly basis to identify if there were any themes.

People were supported to take their medicines by staff who were trained and had been assessed to be competent to administer medicines.

Staff received induction, training and support including supervision and appraisals to enable them to do their job well.

Assessments of people’s needs were carried out to ensure that the service could meet their needs in the way the person preferred. Technology such as an alarm call system was used via the wearing of pendants for every person using the service to enhance the care being provided.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and supported people to remain as independent as possible. People made positive comments about the staff. One person said, “The staff are wonderful and so caring.” Staff treated people kindly. Staff were knowledgeable about each person and knew their likes and dislikes. People were involved in planning their care and support.

Care plans gave staff detailed guidance relating to the care and support each person needed so that people received personalised care that was responsive to their needs.

A complaints process was in place and a complaint received had been dealt with in a timely manner. The provider had a policy and procedure in place to meet people’s end-of-life care needs when this was required.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager. Staff were clear about their role to provide people with a high-quality service. Staff enjoyed working for at the service. One member of staff said, “It’s great here and we all get on really well as a team.”

A quality assurance system was in place which included an annual questionnaire to enable people, relatives and other interested parties to have a say about how the service was run and how to make any improvements. Audits and monitoring checks on various aspects of the service, including spot-checks on the way staff worked with people were carried out.

The registered manager was aware of the various matters that the service was required by law to notify CQC about. Staff worked in partnership with other professionals to ensure that joined-up care was provided to people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection we rated this service Good (report published on 31 December 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we might inspect sooner.