We completed an announced inspection at Housing and Care 21 - Swallowdale on 11 May 2017. This was the first inspection since the service registered with CQC.Housing & Care 21 – Swallowdale is an extra care service consisting of 66 apartments within the building. There is an office base and care staff provide people with a range of services including; personal care, medicines management and cleaning services. At the time of the inspection 41 people were receiving care and support from the provider.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At this inspection, we identified one regulatory breach. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
Risks to people's care and support needs had been assessed and records contained information on how to manage the risks associated with people's care. Staff understood their responsibilities of safeguarding people from abuse and could describe how they would recognise the different types of abuse.
Staff told us they received appropriate training and attended supervision meetings to enhance and develop their skills.
The service did not always follow safe recruitment procedures, as the provider did not always obtain the required information about staff. This meant there was a risk that the staff were not suitable.
The service had an available complaints policy and we saw complaints were recorded and outcomes documented. However, not all the people we spoke with believed that their concerns resulted in change.
A variety of audits were carried out but were not always effective in identifying issues.
People using the service and their relatives said staff were kind and helpful and that there was positive communication. People said they were able to make choices and were involved in their day-to-day care decisions.
People were supported to access health and medical support when required.
Staff promoted people's privacy and dignity and people told us they were treated with kindness and respect.