Laburnum Grove Housing with Care Scheme

Updated 5 December 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one 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 the premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care service.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the registered manager 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit as we needed to be sure they were available to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who are a commissioner of the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

On 28 October 2019, the Expert by Experience telephoned people and relatives for feedback on the quality of care received. A visit to the service took place on 5 November 2019. In total we spoke with five people and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and care workers. We also spoke with two visiting healthcare professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medication records. We looked a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 5 December 2019

About the service

Laburnum Grove is a housing with care scheme. People live on site in their own flats and have a tenancy agreement with a housing provider. Norse Care provides care and support over a twenty-four-hour period. There are 30 flats within the scheme at Laburnum Grove.

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. At the time of our inspection, 25 people were receiving personal care.

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

The people and relatives we spoke with were extremely happy and complimentary about the quality of care provided by the management and staff at Laburnum Grove. One person had recently fed back to the service how loved and special they were made to feel by the staff. A relative told us, “It has changed my family member’s world, being at Laburnum Grove.” Without exception, everyone we spoke with including people, relatives, staff and external professionals said they would recommend the service to others.

There was very strong leadership in place. The registered manager was passionate in their drive to ensure both the staff and people who used the service were well cared for and their wellbeing enhanced. They empowered staff to be creative when doing their job, which in turn gave staff a sense of pride working at Laburnum Grove. This made them feel happy and valued which impacted on people’s lives. Staff had no hesitation in going the extra mile to provide people with comfort and compassion when needed.

There was a strong team of staff at Laburnum Grove who demonstrated a culture of putting people first in everything they did. This was evident from the feedback we received from both people and relatives during this inspection. External professionals also commented on how well the service worked with them, to ensure people received a high standard of care.

The registered manager and staff were innovative and worked in collaboration with people using the service. Examples of this included the introduction of support groups for people living with mental health conditions or dementia. Another support group had been set up to help people keep themselves safe. These were open to the wider community, relatives and staff to provide them with knowledge and a sense of social engagement.

The registered manager and staff had taken time to get to know people well. This enabled them to provide people with care in a way they wanted to receive it. People were supported to participate in events that supported their hobbies, interests and independence, which enhanced their wellbeing.

The registered manager and staff were strong advocates for people, particularly as they approached the end of their life. This ensured as much as possible, people’ individual wishes were respected.

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. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and managed well but if they wanted to take informed risks, the staff respected this. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people received their medicines when they needed them. The staff were well trained and knowledgeable. They received regular supervision and support to keep their skill up to date and their care practice safe. Staff were vigilant of people’s wellbeing and were quick to alert the relevant professionals to ensure people received the necessary support with their health.

Good governance systems were in place to monitor the quality of care provided. The registered manager was keen to continuously improve people’s experience of care. When things had gone wrong, lessons had been learnt and steps taken to reduce the risk of the error from happening again.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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