We carried out a review of the data available to us about Housing 21 - Brookside Court on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Housing 21 - Brookside Court, you can give feedback on this service.
At the last inspection in April 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. Feedback provided by people using the service included, “The staff are very caring, excellent in fact” and “The support from the staff is brilliant, no complaints whatsoever”. Friends and family who were at people’s homes when we visited them were equally positive, “My [relative] has a lot of support from the staff and they are really good. The managers listen and will act on things we request on behalf of [relative]”.
Staff have an understanding of the person centred care they provide and we were told by one staff member that “Everyone is different and we provide what they need in relation to their care and support the way they want it”.
People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
Staff have a good understanding of systems in place to manage medicines, safeguarding matters and behaviours that are challenging to others. People's medicines are managed so that they receive them safely, all medication is in a secure place in people’s homes and recorded in their care plan.
We have made a recommendation about the management of recording medicines.
There were sufficient staff available to ensure people's wellbeing, safety and security was protected, however there has been a lot of short notice sickness that had put pressure on the care staff in the last couple of months. A robust recruitment and selection process is in place. This ensures prospective new staff have the right skills and are suitable to work with people living at the extra care living facility.
Staff are compassionate, kind and caring and have developed good relationships with people using the service. People are comfortable in the presence of staff. Relatives confirmed the staff were caring and looked after people very well.
A lot of consideration and thought has gone into the decoration and layout of the service. The overall effect created is a homely and peaceful environment in all communal areas at the scheme with due consideration given to the needs of people with dementia.
Staff spoke consistently about the service being a good place to work and that they enjoyed their roles. Care staff told us they were happy with the training and felt supported by the manager.
When we completed our previous inspection on 26/04/2016 we found concerns that confidential information was not always protected within the main office of the agency. At this time this topic area was included under the key question of Effective. We reviewed and refined our assessment framework and published the new assessment framework in October 2017. Under the new framework this topic area is included under the key question of caring. Therefore, for this inspection, we have inspected this key question and also the previous key question of Effective to make sure all areas are inspected to validate the ratings.
Housing and Care 21- Brookside Court is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care support to people living in their own home. The agency is based in an extra care living facility in Knotty Ash. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living at Brookside Court who were receiving support from the agency with their personal care. A further eight people living in the community were receiving support with their personal care.
The agency had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
During the inspection we spoke with people using the agency and their relatives. We also looked at a range of records including care records, staff records and records relating to quality assurance of the service.
At this inspection we found a breach of regulations. This was because people’s privacy was not always respected with regards to private information.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People told us that they felt safe with the staff who supported them. Systems were in place within the agency for identifying and reporting any safeguarding concerns that arose.
Sufficient staff were available to provided people with the support they required. People told us staff stayed the full length of time and that they had support from regular staff who they knew well. They also told us staff provided their support flexibly.
Care plans were up to date and contained sufficient information to guide staff on the support people needed. Where possible people had been involved in planning their care.
Policies and procedures were in place for supporting people with their medication and these had been followed to ensure people received the support with their medication that they needed.
Staff received the training, support and supervision they needed to carry out their role effectively. Robust recruitment procedures were followed to help ensure staff were suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable.
Staff knew people well and knew how to support people based on their individual choices and needs.
People were confident to raise any concerns or complaints they had and the majority of people were confident these would be resolved. The agency took action to seek external resolution for any complaints or concerns that they could not resolve to the person’s satisfaction.
Systems were in place for checking the quality of the service provided and the views of people using the agency and their relatives were regularly obtained. Where an area for improvement was identified an action plan was put into place to address this.
We found that the service had procedures and systems in place to obtain consent to care and treatment from people who used the service and to protect their human rights.
We looked at the care files for five people who used the service. We found them to be person centred. Care files contained enough information about people who used the service for staff to provide appropriate and safe care. This information had been regularly updated.
We found that where the service helped people with their medicines, it was done in a safe manner. Staff had received training in medication and risk assessments were in place.
We looked at staffing levels, observed care in the day centre and found that there were enough suitably qualified members of staff on duty to meet people's needs.
The service had policies and procedure in place to deal with complaints and people who used the service had been given information about this process and knew how to make a complaint.
'They are lovely girls, they are lovely with me! What more can I ask for?'
'Our life is so much better since we got this service. They have made such a difference.'
We looked at a number of areas during the inspection, including how the service promoted people's care and welfare and how the provider monitored the quality of the service. We found that the service was compliant with all the areas we assessed.
People told us that they have information about the service which they keep in their home and they told us that they are kept up to date with any new information. They told us that they have been regularly asked what they think about the service and have been given opportunities to put forward their views and opinions.
People told us that they have a care plan which is kept in their home, they said they were involved in putting together their plan of care and have signed it to say that they agree with it.
People told us that they decide how they are supported and cared for and that the staff who support them treat them well and with respect.
One person commented that they are very happy with the care they receive and would tell someone if they were not. People told us that they would ask to talk to somebody in the office if they were not sure about making the right decision about their care and treatment.
People told us that they feel well cared for by the staff who support them. One person said the staff are very good and know what they are doing. Another person told us the care they get is second to none.
People who use the service made the following comments about the staff who support them:
'The staff are very good at their jobs'. 'They know what they are doing'. 'The staff are marvellous'. 'The staff are very respectful and kind'. 'They always go the extra mile'. 'I have a lot of confidence in the staff'.
People told us that when needed staff help them to attend healthcare appointments to hospitals, GPs and dentists.
People told us told that they would definitely tell someone if they were badly treated by anyone. They also told us that they have been given information about what to do if they had concerns about how they are treated.
People said they are supported by the right amount of staff. They also told us that staff arrive at their homes on time. One person commented, 'The staff are never late they are always there when I need them'.
People said they know how to complain and would do if they needed to. One person said, 'I have been given information about how to complain'. All the people we spoke with said they think their complaint would be listened to and taken seriously.