Parkside Court Extra Care Scheme

and 17 bungalows in 1 purpose-built location. There is an office on site and communal areas within

the building for people to use as they wish.

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 inspection 17 people were receiving personal care.

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

People and relatives were happy with the service and the care people received and were complimentary about care staff, describing them as “great,” “very good” and “friendly.” Comments from relatives included, “[Family member] gets the same group of carers who are lovely and friendly. They’re smashing” and, “They are nice girls. They all get the thumbs up from me.” Staff were passionate about their roles and the people they support. A staff member said, “I really enjoy my job, I enjoy helping the clients to the best of my ability. Parkside Court is a great place to work.”

The provider had taken appropriate action following the last inspection, to make required improvements in the service. Systems were reviewed and revised to ensure risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were well documented and managed, safe recruitment processes were always followed, and people’s care plans were person-centred and reflected their individual needs and wishes. The provider also implemented additional quality checks to monitor the service more effectively.

There were systems in place to keep people safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff safeguarded people from abuse. Medicines were safely administered and managed. The provider and staff protected people from the risk or spread of infection.

Staff knew how to effectively communicate with people and communication methods were detailed in care records. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and the provider had a suitable complaints procedure in place.

The service was well-managed. The provider promoted an open and honest culture in the service. People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys and reviews. The provider, management and staff worked in partnership with other health professionals to achieve positive outcomes for people.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 November 2022). Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Regulation 17 (Good governance).

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements. For the key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Parkside Court Extra Care Scheme on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Parkside Court Extra Care Service is an extra care scheme providing personal care to people living in 30 flats and 17 bungalows in one purpose built location. There is a care office on site and communal areas within the building for people to use as they wish.

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 there were 19 people using the service who received personal care.

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

Risk assessments were not always put in place when a risk was identified. Staff had not always been recruited safely. The pre-employment checks in place to reduce the risk of unsuitable people working with vulnerable people had not always been completed or accurately recorded. People’s care plans were not always up to date or accurate. Audits and quality assurance systems had failed to identify the issues we found with records.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs safely. People felt safe and appeared relaxed and happy when being supported by staff. The provider had systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to raise concerns if needed. Medicines were managed safely by staff who were appropriately trained and assessed as competent. People were protected from the risk of infection.

People's needs were assessed before they started to use the service to ensure the team could meet those needs. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink, where required as part of their care package. Staff were well supported and received the training they needed. Staff supported people to access health care services when this was required.

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.

People were well supported by staff who knew their needs well. People confirmed they were happy with the care and support they received. People were involved in day to day decisions about their care and able to express their wishes to staff. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and encouraged people to be independent wherever possible.

The provider could make information available in different formats depending on people's individual communication needs. Staff supported people to access the local community where required and the provider was looking at ways of increasing the activities available by working in partnership with the housing association who was responsible for communal areas. There was a policy in place for dealing with complaints.

The provider took steps to ensure people, staff and relatives felt valued and included. The provider engaged well with people and relatives. Staff meetings took place and were an opportunity to raise any concerns and share ideas about the service. The provider had a good relationship with external professionals and stakeholders.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 13 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 17 October 2017.

Why we inspected

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.