Background to this inspection
Updated
30 January 2020
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
The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.
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 bought or 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 they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who worked with this service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service about their experiences of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, an assistant care manager and two care workers. We reviewed a range of records including four people’s care plans and multiple medication records. We reviewed four staff files in relation to recruitment, supervision and training. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service including audits, policies and procedures.
Updated
30 January 2020
About the service
Housing 21 – Greenrod Place is an extra care housing scheme. The scheme provides 31 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom flats to rent and five two-bedroom flats to buy through shared ownership. People received support with their personal care, support with medicines, food shopping and cleaning. People can also be visited by care workers from other external providers. At the time of the inspection 37 people were receiving support with personal care.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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
Care workers administered people’s medicines in a safe way and as prescribed. People told us they felt safe when receiving care. There was a process to investigate any concerns regarding the care provided.
The provider had processes in place for the recording and investigation of incidents and accidents.
Risk management plans were in place providing care workers with guidance on how to minimise risks for people using the service.
There was a robust recruitment process and there were enough care workers deployed to provide support based upon the care needs of people.
Care workers received the training and supervision they required to provide them with the knowledge and skills to provide care in a safe and effective way.
Detailed assessments of a person’s needs were completed before they moved into the extra care scheme. The care plans described the care and support a person required and how they wanted it to be 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.
People were supported to eat a healthy diet and to access healthcare professionals when required.
The provider had a complaints process in place and people told us they knew what to do if they wished to raise any concerns.
People using the service were supported to access the community to reduce the risk of social isolation.
There was a range of quality assurance processes in place to identify if any actions were required to improve the service. People using the service and staff felt the service was well-led.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 20 May 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.