This inspection took place on 24 and 25 February 2016 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.
At the last inspection of the service in 11 September 2013 we found the service was meeting the regulations we looked at.
Housing 21 and Care – Hillside Court provides personal care for tenants living at Hillside Court. At the time of our inspection there were 49 people receiving services at Hillside Court.
The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated regulations about how the service is run.
We found that staffing numbers were not always sufficient to ensure people’s care and support needs could be met in a timely manner. Accidents had not been analysed for patterns and trends to minimise occurrences. We also found that staff recruitment process was not consistently robust to make sure staff had all the necessary checks before they started work.
People told us they felt safe at Hillside Court and staff were respectful, kind and helpful towards them. People felt staff were well trained to support them and their care needs were met. People were supported by a consistent group of staff who had the necessary skills and knowledge to provide the care and support they required.
Where people were at risk of ill health due to not eating or drinking enough, staff monitored people closely and reported any concerns to the manager. We saw professional advice was sought where concerns about people’s nutritional health were identified. People also had access to a ‘community matron’ who visited the service each week. The service sought advice from the nurse in supporting people to maintain good health and people’s weight was checked if required.
The manager ensured risk assessments were carried out for people at risk of ill health due to their health conditions. This included nutritional risk assessments and these were regularly reviewed to identify any changes in the support people may need. People had an opportunity to say what social activities and entertainment they would like by attending resident meetings where these were discussed.
The registered manager and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and supported people in line with these principles. This included staff seeking consent from people before delivering care.
Care plans and risk assessments contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the personalised care people required. People were given opportunities to share their views and opinions about the quality of the service they received. People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available for people.
The provider and the registered manager were committed to providing quality care to people. People who used the service felt they were listened to and found staff approachable and responsive. There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people. This was through regular communication with people and staff, checks on records, staff and resident meetings and a programme of checks and audits.
We identified that the provider was not meeting regulatory requirements and was in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.