Charlie Ratchford Court

Updated 8 December 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘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.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 August 2022 and ended on 31 October 2022. We visited the location’s office, which is in the same building as people using the service were living, on 3 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed other information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with the registered manager and five staff. We received feedback from four people using the service about how safe and supported they felt.

We looked at three people's care planning records and one medicines record, as only one person required assistance with medicines. We also looked at staffing and recruitment information.

Updated 8 December 2022

About the service

Charlie Ratchford Court is an extra care service, with 38 flats in a single larger building. The service was currently providing personal care to five people.

Not everyone that used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

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 and the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s safety was promoted because the service assessed, monitored and managed their safety well. Potential risks that people may face had been identified and assessed when people began to use the service. However, there was a lack of clarity about how frequently these risk assessments should be reviewed.

The service had enough staff to cater for the needs of people currently using the service. Pre-employment checks had been carried out for care staff. These checks helped to ensure only suitable applicants were offered work with the service.

People received their medicines safely. One person required prompting to take medicines but could then administer these themselves. These prompts were recorded on medicines administration records [MAR] to show medicine had been taken.

People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service used effective infection, prevention and control measures. Personal protective equipment, for example face masks, gloves and hand sanitiser, was provided in suitable quantities to staff for use as and when required. Guidance for staff and training was provided and staff were assessed to ensure these measures were maintained.

The service completed an assessment of each person’s needs and personal wishes about how they were cared for and care plans included guidance about meeting these needs.

There was a process in place to report, monitor and learn from accidents, incidents or other significant events that occurred. No significant events had taken place although the registered manager told us if any events did occur these would be documented in line with the service’s policy and guidance.

There was an effective training system in place. People were supported by staff who had received relevant induction training in evidence-based practice and a programme of refresher training was being established.

People’s nutritional needs were met. No one using the service required support to eat but some did require help to prepare meals. Staff had taken steps to make sure people’s nutrition and hydration needs were assessed and met. People also had the option of eating in the café of the building on the ground floor if they wanted to.

People’s health needs were met. One person was assisted by staff to attend medical appointments and other people were either independent in arranging their healthcare or received practical assistance from staff when needed.

Staff respected people’s choices, including those relevant to protected characteristics, for example, due to disability, cultural or religious preferences.

Governance and oversight processes were effective and helped to assess, monitor and check the quality of the service 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

This is the first inspection of the service. This service was registered with us on 08/09/2021.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.