About the serviceComfort Call – Bowmont House is an extra care scheme providing care and support to older people living in their own flats in one larger building. There were 25 people in receipt of personal care at the time of inspection.
People’s experience of using this service
People felt safe and at home. Staff knew people well and were mindful of any risks they faced. Bespoke risk assessments were in place and staff worked well with external professionals to support people when they were more vulnerable. Staff knew what action they would take if abuse was suspected.
Staff were well trained and well supported through regular themed supervisions and appraisals.
Continuity of care was strong, with a low turnover of staff. Missed or late calls were extremely rare. Rota planning was effective and arrangements were in place to prevent delays and missed calls.
People were treated with dignity, respect, patience and good humour.
Care plans were sufficiently detailed, person-centred, and with input from external health and social care professionals. People were involved in their care planning and review.
The service enabled independence in that it bridged a gap between people living on their own at home and people moving to a residential care service. The majority of people felt the service did this well.
End of life training and external links with specialist professionals were in place. The provider recognised more could be done to broach conversations about advanced care planning and end of life care at an earlier stage. We have made a recommendation about this.
The service was well-led. The care scheme coordinator was well respected by staff and well known by people who used the service. The culture was an open one. People and staff felt they could raise concerns or queries through a range of means, and that they would be dealt with appropriately.
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.
Audits at a local level, regionally and by the provider’s national quality assurance team helped ensure quality standards were maintained and people remained safe.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
Good (last report published 15 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.