Windmill Place

Updated 10 June 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 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 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 bought or 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 May 2023 when we visited the office and finished on 30 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service. This included any information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

During the inspection, we spoke with the registered manager and the care supervisor. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included care records for 5 people receiving personal care, staff training records, 4 staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke with 6 people and 6 relatives, and we sought their feedback about the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance and records relating to the management of the service. We contacted 8 staff by email to seek their feedback. In addition, we contacted the local authority to obtain their views.

Updated 10 June 2023

About the service

Windmill Place is an extra care facility that provides personal care services to people living in their own flats contained in one purpose-built building in Thame, Oxfordshire. At the time of our inspection 15 people were receiving personal care from the service. 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.

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

People were protected from abuse and harm. Staff demonstrated they knew how to report any concerns relating to people’s safety and the service had systems to report and investigate concerns. Risk assessments identified how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm. Staff understood the risks to people and delivered safe care in accordance with people's support plans. There were sufficient staff deployed to keep people safe and meet their needs. The service aimed to ensure only suitable staff were selected to work with vulnerable people, and checks were carried out to allow safe recruitment decisions to be made.

Each staff member had received an induction and training to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. People received their medicine as prescribed, and we saw medicines were managed appropriately and records were accurate and up to date. We saw that supervision meetings and spot checks were planned and conducted for staff who told us they felt supported by the registered manager to perform their role. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People's care plans were person-centred and focused on what was important to people. Care plans were regularly reviewed, and people were involved in the reviews.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively of the management; they found them approachable and supportive. Staff were given appropriate responsibility which was continuously monitored and checked by the registered manager. There were systems to monitor, maintain and improve the quality of the service.

In April 2022 the service changed provider. People told us this was conducted without consultation and was the cause of some anxiety for people and their relatives. However, the majority of people had now settled with the new provider as many of the staff remained working at Windmill Place.

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 April 2022, and this is their first inspection

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection for a newly registered service.

Follow up

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