Extra Care Team 2

Updated 28 March 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector and an assistant inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to older people living in their own flats within a supported housing complex.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit. This was because it is small and the manager is often out of the office due to their registered manager duties in other of the registered provider’s services. We needed to be sure they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 12 February 2019, when we spoke with people who used the service and staff on the telephone it ended on 28 February 2019. We visited the office location on 28 February 2019 to see the manager and staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received since the service registered. We used information the provider had sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. We checked information held by the local authority commissioning and safeguarding teams in addition to other partner agencies and intelligence received by the Care Quality Commission.

We spoke with five people who used the service and one family member, by telephone and a further two people and two family members during our visit to the service. We spoke with three staff on the telephone and three staff face to face, as well as the team leader and registered manager.

We looked at three care records for people who used the service, three staff files including recruitment, training and supervision records and records relating to the quality assurance of the service.

Updated 28 March 2019

About the service: 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 provided personal care to 13 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People who used the service told us they felt safe. Staff knew what to do if they thought somebody was at risk. Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate identified risks.

¿ Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs safely. Staff received appropriate training and they told us the training was good and relevant to their role. Staff were supported by the registered manager and received formal supervision where they could discuss their ongoing development needs and any issues they were experiencing.

¿ People using the service benefited from a caring and responsive service. People told us how staff were kind and caring and treated them with kindness and respect. Staff demonstrated a caring, friendly and respectful approach to people.

¿ People were supported to have choice and control of the care and support they received. We saw examples of how people were supported to retain their independence.

¿ Staff supported people to access healthcare professionals and services; medicines were being managed safely.

¿ Assessments of people’s needs were completed and care plans developed when people started to use the service. Care plans were brief but contained the detail staff needed to support people in the way they preferred. Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate identified risks.

¿ People were supported to engage in social and recreational activities through staff working closely with staff from the housing association.

¿There was a complaints procedure in place and we saw complaints received were managed well. Compliments were recorded and celebrated at staff meetings.

¿ There was a registered manager and systems were followed to make sure management was effective. The quality and safety of the service was audited. The registered manager and all staff demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement of the service.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of this service since their change of registered location in March 2018.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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