North Lincolnshire Council - Myos House

Updated 1 March 2023

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 1 inspector. An Expert by Experience also made phone calls to relatives the following day. 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

North Lincolnshire Council – Myos House 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 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 10 January 2023 and ended on 16 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 11 and 13 January 2023.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 8 people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the nominated individual, the registered manager, 2 senior rehabilitation officers and 7 members of staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 7 people’s care records and a range of medicine records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. We also received information from a healthcare professional who visited the service.

Updated 1 March 2023

About the service

North Lincolnshire Council – Myos House is an extra care housing scheme comprising of 25 individual flats in one large building. The service provides support to people with dementia, older people, people with a physical disability or a sensory impairment and younger adults. At the time of our inspection there were 17 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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 were not always protected from avoidable harm. There was limited use of systems to record, manage and report concerns about risk and safety incidents. The registered manager did not have a consistent approach to all safeguarding concerns raised.

There was a lack of systems and processes in place at service level and risks were not always identified or managed. Managers and staff were unclear about their responsibilities and legal requirements were not always met.

Staff received regular supervision and appraisals. However, staff had not received the training required to meet all the needs of people in the service. We have made a recommendation about staff training.

The care and support of people in the service were not always delivered in line with current evidence-based guidance. We have made a recommendation the assessment and needs of people are regularly reviewed and updated.

Care plans were often task focused and did not cover how to support and manage people’s physical health needs. We have made a recommendation for Health Action Plans to be in place.

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.

There was enough staff to provide a consistent and reliable service and recruitment systems were robust to ensure the right staff were recruited to keep people safe. Staff managed medicines consistently and safely.

People were treated with dignity, respect and kindness. People and relatives told us staff were kind, caring and polite. One relative said, “I think they [staff] are very, very compassionate.” People knew how to seek help and felt listened to.

The provider complied with the Accessible Information Standards by meeting the communication needs of people in the service. People were empowered to make choices and have as much independence as possible.

The provider involved people and their relatives in a meaningful way and staff attended regular team meetings and felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff in the service.

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 15 October 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the systems and processes within the service that do not assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service or mitigate the risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service. Also, the overall responsibility, leadership and management of the service.

Please see the action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.