Watergate House (office)

Updated 24 January 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 team consisted of an 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 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 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 Care Quality Commission 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 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. We contacted the local authority

commissioning team and safeguarding team for their feedback about the service. 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people and 6 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 4 support workers, the registered manager and deputy manager during the site visit. We reviewed a range of records including 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed. We contacted two visiting healthcare professionals via email.

Updated 24 January 2023

About the service

Watergate House (Office), also known as Watergate Court, is a specialist ‘extra care’ housing facility where people live in flats in a single purpose-built building. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people using the service.

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

Medicines were managed safely, however the administration records were not always completed correctly. Some ‘as and when required’ medicines documents were not in line with best practice. The management team were implementing processes to improve medicines management. We have made a recommendation about this.

People were safe from the risk of abuse. Risks were assessed and regularly reviewed when people's needs changed.

The provider employed sufficient staff, staff were trained appropriately and recruited safely. Staff worked effectively with visiting professionals. Staff wore PPE to keep people safe and infection control measures were in place.

Care records were person-centred and focused on promoting people’s independence. People said they were treated with dignity and respect during personal care and always asked for their consent.

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.

Feedback from relatives and people was generally positive. Staff said felt well supported by the management team. People and relatives were involved in their care decisions.

Quality assurance checks were carried out to ensure people were receiving safe and good quality care. Feedback from staff and people had been listened to. Lessons had been learnt from incidents, however they were not always well documented.

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 8 November 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.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation in relation to the management of medicines. Further information can be read in the full report below.

Follow up

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