Archived: Cornell Court

Updated 9 April 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides personal care to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is legally responsible, alongside the provider, for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

The provider was in the process of recruiting a new registered manager for the service.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 10 March 2022 and ended on 16 March 2022. We visited the service on 10 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since its registration and we used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medicines records, three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We reviewed training data and quality assurance documentation and spoke with three healthcare professionals who had regular contact with the service.

Updated 9 April 2022

About the service

Cornell Court provides care 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 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 service. At the time of the inspection seven people were receiving support with their 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 provider had not always ensured there were robust recruitment processes in place to check new staff were safe to work in the service. We have made a recommendation about the safe recruitment of staff. People and relatives spoke positively about the support they received from staff. However, we received mixed feedback about whether there were enough staff available and the impact of staffing on people’s care visits.

The service had undergone a number of changes in management. People, relatives and staff told us this had impacted on communication and consistency. The provider had responded proactively by bringing a senior manager into the service to act as interim manager. Everyone we spoke with told us this had led to improvements in the service. Staff told us they felt more supported and relatives spoke positively about the increase in communication and the welcoming culture of the service.

Risks to people’s safety were assessed and reviewed and systems were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Processes were in place to ensure medicines were managed safely and staff had received medicines training. The provider had implemented safe infection prevention and control processes. Staff had access to appropriate personal protective equipment [PPE] and updated guidance in relation to managing infection control risks.

People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring in their support. People received personalised care and were involved in planning and reviewing their own care. The provider had considered people’s communication needs during their initial assessment and systems were in place to support people to use technology to call for help and to speak to friends and family.

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.

Staff had received an induction when starting in their role and had completed a range of relevant training to support their understanding of people’s needs. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and people, relatives and staff felt comfortable raising any concerns and giving feedback. The provider had built strong links within the local community and worked effectively alongside other health professionals to support people’s health and wellbeing.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 4 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not been rated.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.