Robert Kett Court

Updated 23 August 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 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.

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

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. This is in line with our methodology for domiciliary care services.

Inspection activity started on 19 July 2019 and ended on 23 July 2019. We visited the office location on 22 July 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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. We also looked at any notifications we had received from the service.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, a team leader, three support workers, including a night support worker and a new staff member, and the provider’s dementia lead. We also observed some interactions between staff and service users in communal areas of the housing scheme.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and associated medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 23 August 2019

About the service

Robert Kett Court provides Housing with care. People have their own tenancies with Broadland Housing and Norse care provides care according to people's individual needs. There is a dedicated extra care unit for people living with dementia and a separate unit for older people. At the time of the inspection, there were 36 people using the service, including 9 people living with dementia.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity such as personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

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

There were systems in place to ensure staff knew how to report any safeguarding concerns, and how to mitigate risks to people.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, and further improvements had been identified and planned for in staffing levels. The provider continued to implement safe recruitment practices to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Staff administered medicines safely and kept detailed records of this. Staff received enough training to be competent in their roles and meet people’s needs.

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.

Staff supported people to access healthcare and followed any recommendations in people’s care from healthcare professionals.

People and staff developed positive relationships and staff were kind and compassionate, ensuring people’s dignity, privacy and independence were upheld.

People received care that was individualised according to their needs and preferences, and families were kept involved and consulted. People knew how to raised concerns and felt the registered manager was approachable.

There was good leadership in place and a staff team who worked well together. Quality assurance systems ensured that the service identified any shortfalls and took action to improve the service. The registered manager and provider kept up to date with current research and new approaches to improving care.

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 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.