Frylands Court

Updated 13 April 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support 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 and support service.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 24 hours’ notice because people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Inspection activity started on 22 March 2022 and ended on 28 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 22 March.

What we did before the inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We reviewed statutory notifications submitted by the provider. Statutory notifications contain information providers are required to send to us about significant events that take place within services. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with six people using the service, two care support workers, the registered manager and the operations manager. We observed interactions between people and staff. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records, medicines administration records and arrangements for two people and other records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection:

We spoke with a relative and asked them for their feedback about the service. We also asked for feedback from three healthcare professionals. We continued to speak with the registered manager and operations manager and sought clarification about the evidence gathered. We also reviewed additional documentation relating to staffing and management of the service.

Updated 13 April 2022

About the service

Frylands Court was previously known as London Care (Frylands Court). London Borough of Croydon took back the management and operation of the service from the previous care provider in January 2020.

Frylands Court provides personal care and support to people living in self-contained flats located in a single building. This is known as extra care housing and is operated by an independent housing provider which also happens to be London Borough of Croydon. 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 this inspection there were 22 people being provided with personal care and support by the service.

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

People were safe at the service. Staff had been trained to safeguard people from abuse and knew how to manage risks to people to keep them safe. There were enough staff to support people. The provider carried out recruitment and criminal records checks on new staff to make sure they were suitable to support people.

Staff made sure people’s flats and the general premises were clean and hygienic. Staff followed current hygiene practices to reduce the risk of infections. Visitors to the service were given information to help them reduce the risk of catching and spreading infections. The provider made sure safety concerns about the premises were reported promptly to the housing provider.

People were involved in planning their care and support and could state their preferences for how this was provided. People’s records reflected their needs and preferences. People were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. People’s choices for how this was provided were respected and staff delivered this in line with their wishes.

Staff knew people well and understood how their needs and preferences should be met. They were provided with relevant training to help them meet people’s needs. Staff were supported by the provider to continuously improve their working practices to help people achieve positive outcomes.

Staff were kind and caring and respected people’s rights to privacy and to be treated with dignity. People were supported to be as independent as they could be with daily living tasks. They were supported to undertake activities and interests they were interested in and to maintain relationships with the people important to them. Relatives could visit with family members without unnecessary restrictions.

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 supported this practice.

Staff helped people to stay healthy and well. They supported people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs, to take their prescribed medicines and to manage their healthcare conditions.

People and staff’s views were sought about how the service could improve. The provider undertook checks at regular intervals, to monitor, review and improve the quality and safety of the service and addressed any issues found through these checks.

There were arrangements in place to make sure accidents, incidents and complaints would be fully investigated and people would be involved and informed of the outcome. The provider worked proactively with healthcare professionals involved in people’s care and acted on their recommendations to deliver care and support that met people’s needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 3 January 2020 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 14 June 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.