Background to this inspection
Updated
6 May 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 and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ 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.
Inspection activity started on 14 April 2021 and ended on 16 April 2021. We visited the office location on 14 April 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we held about the service. 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 four people who use the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, team leader and care worker.
We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with four professionals who regularly visit the service.
Updated
6 May 2021
About the service
Creative Support - Oaktree House and Cedar Court provides personal care and support to people living in flats. At the time of the inspection, 47 people were receiving personal care.
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
The service had ensured that medicines were given to people safely and regular audits were in place to ensure this. People’s risks assessments were clearly written and easy to follow meaning that people were less likely to suffer harm.
Systems were in place for people to raise concerns and they felt they would be listened to. People felt that staff were caring, and regular activities were available for them to take part in if they wished to.
The provider was able to demonstrate that quality assurance systems had improved to ensure the quality of the service was maintained. The provider was able to demonstrate their compliance with legal obligations and any trends or learning from incidents or accidents was identified and actioned effectively.
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 30 September 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 and 25 July 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 in safe care and treatment and good governance.
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 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 Creative Support – Oaktree House and Cedar 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.