Archived: Housing 21 - Lea Springs

Lea Springs is an extra care development offering independent living to people in individual apartments. There are 38 apartments some of which are privately owned. People have access to a range of communal facilities and care and support is available to people 24/7 from a care team on site. A housing and care manager is on site also to provide support and assistance with organising care, repairs and maintenance requirements.

Not everyone using received the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

People felt safe receiving care and support from staff. Staff had received training and demonstrated a good understanding about how to keep people safe and knew how to report any concerns.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. However, records were difficult to navigate and inconsistent. People were supported by adequate numbers of staff with the right skills and abilities.

Medicines were managed safely, and appropriate infection control practices were in place.

People felt staff were well trained. Staff felt well supported and received ongoing training in a range of topics relevant to their roles. They had regular supervisions, work based observations and spot checks.

People were supported to maintain a varied and healthy diet and where necessary and were supported to access health care professionals.

Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act and obtained people’s consent prior to any 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.

People felt staff were kind and caring and treated them with respect. People’s dignity was maintained throughout their support and they were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

Care plans were personalised and detailed. Information included people’s individual needs, likes, dislikes and preferences. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated when required and people and or their family where appropriate were involved.

Feedback on the service was sought from people through completion of surveys and spot checks. Any concerns or complaints received were recorded and investigated by the registered manager and any learning from these was shared with the staff to help drive improvements.

There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor the service. However, these were not always effective in identifying inconsistencies in records. People were very positive about the service and staff. The registered manager operated an open, transparent and inclusive culture at the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Housing and care 21 Lea Springs provides accommodation and personal care for up to 38 people with a differing health related conditions and or age related frailty. The complex is newly built and people live in their own flats which are arranged over three floors, with access to a range of communal areas and facilities.

The service provided personalised support to people and they told us they were happy living at Lea Springs. Staff were aware of people’s needs and abilities and support was tailored around individual’s assessed needs.

People were supported by staff who were caring and kind. The registered manager and staff demonstrated that they knew people well and had taken time to establish people’s preferences and preferred routines. People's consent to care and treatment was obtained. The registered manager and staff were open and transparent in their approach to all aspects of the service.

We saw that there were adequate staff on duty at all times to meet people’s needs. People were supported with hobbies both within the complex and to access activities in their local community. We saw that there were appropriate recruitment processes in place, which helped to ensure that people who were employed to work at the service were suitable to work in a care environment.

Staff had received training relevant to their roles and had regular supervisions with their line manager. Staff demonstrated they were clear about their roles and responsibilities and received support from the manager and senior staff.

We saw that people’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff treated people in a way that was respectful and caring. We saw that staff were patient and thoughtful when supporting people and were respectful of their wishes and did not rush them.

People were protected from potential abuse because the registered manager and staff had received training in how to identify and report potential concerns. Records seen demonstrated that safeguarding incidents were appropriately reported by the registered manager.

People were encouraged to raise concerns or complaints as a way of improving the service provided. We saw how complaints were investigated and responded to in a timely way, and where possible to the satisfaction of the complainant.

People were supported to do their own shopping and cook meals where required, but many people were able to do these tasks without support from staff. There was a restaurant on site from which people could purchase a range of freshly cooked foods. People were supported to maintain good health and staff accompanied them to attend appointments at the GP, opticians and other health related appointments including hospital appointments.

People had individualised care and support plans and these were regularly reviewed. We saw that there were risk assessments in place which were reviewed whenever there was a change in to people’s circumstances or abilities. People’s care and support plans provided sufficient information to enable staff to provide individualised care and support.

People were supported to take their medicines by staff who had been trained in the safe administration of medicines and who had their competencies checked to make sure they maintained 'good practice'.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. The provider had obtained feedback from people who used the service and stakeholders. Audits and checks were in place so that the registered manager could identify areas that required improvement.