31 May 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
London Care [Ensham House] provides personal care and support to people living in an extra care housing scheme. This consists of 45 individual flats within a staffed building with some communal areas. At the time of our inspection there were 35 older people using the service. A separate organisation manages the building. 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
At the last inspection the service provided was not always safe for people to use and staff to work in as suitable numbers of staff were sometimes not available to meet people’s needs. The service was not always well-led. Shortfalls identified by the quality assurance (QA) system were not being addressed and shortfalls of the care planning systems placed people at the risk of harm.
At this inspection most people and their relatives said there were enough staff who provided safe care and support in a friendly, caring way that met their needs. Risks to people were assessed, monitored and reviewed. This enabled them to take acceptable risks, enjoy their lives and live safely. Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns were reported, investigated and recorded. There were appropriately recruited staff to meet people’s needs. Medicines were safely administered by trained staff.
At this inspection the quality assurance and care planning system ensured people received their calls on time and for the full duration.
The service had an open and honest culture and there was a clearly defined vision and values that staff we spoke with understood and followed. This was done in a caring, kind and sympathetic way. The QA systems and audits identified issues, and they were addressed. Areas of responsibility and accountability were identified, with staff prepared to take responsibility and report any concerns. There were well-established working partnerships with health care professionals. Records including people’s daily logs and care plans were up to date, as well as staff information. People praised the caring and responsive approach of the registered manager and staff.
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 requires improvement (published 1 October 2021) and there were multiple breaches of regulation.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine the risks associated with these issues.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) has introduced focused inspections to follow up on previous breaches and to check specific concerns.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
As no concerns were identified in relation to the key questions Effective, Caring and Responsive, we decided not to inspect these questions. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for London Care [Ensham House] on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.