Archived: Mears Care - Bromley

This service provides personal care to people living in their flats in a specialist ‘extra care’ housing. 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. The service provided personal care to 60 people in their flats at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe. Staff knew what to do if they thought somebody was at risk of abuse; and they knew about their responsibilities to whistle-blow to protect people. People’s care needs, and risks were assessed before they started using the service; and reviewed regularly. Care plans were in place and showed how people’s needs would be met and actions taken to reduce identified risks. People received their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were reported, and the registered manager reviewed them.

Staff received appropriate training and regular support and supervision to do their jobs effectively. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were kind and caring; and gave people choice of how they wanted their care delivered. Staff respected people’s dignity, privacy and independence. Staff supported people to access healthcare services they needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People consented to their care before it was delivered. Staff and the provider understood their responsibilities to act within the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were supported to engage in social and recreational activities they enjoyed. People were supported to maintain their cultural and religious beliefs. Staff understood equality and diversity issues and promoted these.

There was a complaints procedure in place and we saw complaints received were managed well.

There were systems in place to effectively assess and monitor the quality of service delivered. The registered manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to the continuous improvement of the service.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating of the service was Good (published 5 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

Mears Care - Bromley provides personal care and support to people in their own apartments on a single site in Bromley, Kent. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to 61 people.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At this inspection we found that safeguarding adult's procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people they supported. There was a whistle-blowing procedure available and staff said they would use it if they needed to.

Risks to people using the service were assessed, and risk assessments and care plans provided clear guidance for staff on how to manage risks. Medicines were stored, administered and recorded appropriately.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs. The provider had carried out appropriate pre-employment checks to ensure staff were suitable and fit to support people using the service.

Staff received adequate training and support to carry out their roles and records showed staff were up to date with their training. Staff received supervision, appraisals to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the service were inducted into the service appropriately.

The registered manager and staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005(MCA). Staff asked people for their consent before they provided care.

People were protected from the risk of poor nutrition and had access to a range of healthcare professionals in order to maintain good health.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Their privacy, dignity and confidentiality were respected. People were supported to be independent where possible such as by attending to some aspects of their own personal care.

Staff were knowledgeable about people's individual needs. People's cultural needs and religious beliefs were recorded to ensure that staff took them into account when providing support.

People were involved in their care planning. The care and support they received was personalised, and staff respected their wishes and met their needs. Care plans were reflective of people's individual care needs and preferences, and were reviewed on a regular basis.

People knew about the service's complaints procedure. They told us they believed any complaints they raised would be investigated and action taken if necessary.

There were effective processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Regular staff meetings took place and people were given opportunities to provide feedback about the service. People and staff told us they thought the service was well run and that the registered manager was supportive.

Everyone we spoke with who were able to understand, said that the staff explained what they were doing, and involved them in decisions about their care, and in reviewing their care plans. People said they were given choices about how their care was delivered and that they felt safe and well cared for. One person said: 'all the staff are really lovely and I get to help out in the laundry which I like', and another said: 'although I find it hard to see the staff have helped me to safely find my way around by myself, and are all friendly'. These comments were reflective of the comments we received from the majority of people we spoke with.

The provider ensured that they spoke with and involved other health professionals in providing care for people. The provider ensured that safe recruitment practices were adhered to in order to keep people safe, and there was a system in place to effectively respond to people's concerns and complaints.

All of the people we spoke with who used the service told us they were involved in the planning of their care, and had been asked for their views when reviews were carried out.

We reviewed information about six people's care and found that their care needs were being planned for. We found that the staff understood people's care needs and how to protect them from risk and harm. We found that staff had adequate training and supervision and were supported by the agency's management to do their job. The provider used effective systems to regularly check that care was being provided safely and appropriately.