Minster Court Limited

Updated 14 September 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

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 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.

Notice of inspection

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 or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we had received since the last inspection.

The provider completed a Provider Information Return. We used the information the provider sent us in the PIR. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for their views. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people living at Minster Court about their experiences of the service. We spoke with the registered manager, relief manager, four staff and chef.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, supervisions and appraisals. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures, checks and audits.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 14 September 2019

People purchased the support they wished to receive. This included cleaning and laundry services, personal care and the provision of meals. Those we spoke with told us their needs were met by the service.

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

People received safe care. Procedures were in place to help protect people from the risk of harm and abuse. Medicine management was robust. Staffing levels were monitored and there were enough skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

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

Staff received appropriate induction, training, and support and applied learning effectively in line with best practice. This led to good outcomes for people and supported a good quality of life.

Staff were caring and kind. People we spoke with confirmed this. Information was provided to people in a format they could understand.

Person centred care records and risks assessments were in place to inform staff about people's needs. The care provided was reviewed by staff to help people maintain their wellbeing.

People were supported and encouraged to maintain their independence. Health care professionals were contacted by staff when people requested this support or in emergencies.

People could raise complaints. This information was used to improve the service. A good programme of activities was in place for people to take part in, if they wished.

The service was well-led. Continuous improvement, learning and innovation was implemented. Quality checks and audits were in place to monitor the service. Action plans were created when shortfalls were found to ensure corrective action was taken. Data security was maintained.

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 (16 March 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.