Background to this inspection
Updated
6 November 2021
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 carried out by one inspector, with support from an assistant inspector making telephone calls to people and their relatives.
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 or rented 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
This inspection was announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because 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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We spoke with three people, two relatives and two staff members by telephone. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people at Elizabeth House and three at Highdown Court about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, two care workers and two representatives of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and minutes of meetings were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager and provider to validate evidence found. We looked at supervisions and survey results. We spoke with a further person who received support at Highdown Court, two care workers and the care supervisor by telephone. We received feedback from two professionals who worked closely with people at the service.
Updated
6 November 2021
About the service
London Care Highdown Court is an extra care housing service, covering two schemes in Worthing.
‘Highdown Court’ offers 54 one and two-bedroom apartments for rent and shared ownership purchase and is run by Saxon Weald. ‘Elizabeth House’ offers 34 ‘studio’ style flats and is run by Worthing Homes. The Elizabeth House scheme was acquired by the provider in September 2020. At the time of the inspection, London Care Highdown Court was providing personal care to 41 people at Highdown Court and 11 people at Elizabeth House.
The accommodation is rented or owned and is the occupant's own home. Not 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
People spoke positively about their care and support, and spoke highly of the staff team. One person said, “It has been brilliant here." Another told us, “They are really generous with their care and love.”
Staff had received cards of thanks expressing gratitude for their care and support, especially during the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. One read, ‘Thank you for the extra care and attention given to us during this horrible year.’ A second, ‘Thank you for having such a kind heart and going the extra mile for us’.
Since our last inspection a registered manager had been appointed. Everyone spoke of improvement in the care and management of the service. People were encouraged in their involvement and development of the service. There were systems in place to oversee and improve the quality of the services provided. The management worked closely with other professionals, including the housing scheme managers, local authority commissioners and specialist healthcare professionals.
Additional staff had been recruited and people had confidence their care calls would be fulfilled, and their needs met. People felt safe. Risks related to their care had been assessed and staff knew how to support them safely. People were supported with their medicines in line with their needs. Staff had received additional training in how to manage the risk of infection caused by COVID-19.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 January 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection, we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 22 October 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve staffing and governance at the service.
We undertook this focused inspection following a monitoring call with the service in July 2021. The evidence and feedback gathered during this process indicated the service had improved. We inspected to check they had followed their action plan, to confirm they now met legal requirements and to review the rating for the service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion 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 Highdown Court 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.