Abigail Court (Domicillary Care)

Abigail Court (Domicillary Care) 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 and this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service. At the time of the inspection, 15 people were being supported by the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection we rated the service ‘good’. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support an overall rating of ‘good’, and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. However, we found the provider had made further improvements to their quality monitoring systems to ensure that people received good care. The exceptional leadership and management of the service fostered a culture that encouraged collaborative working and openness. The registered manager provided stable leadership and effective support to the staff. People, relatives and staff feedback was listened to and improvements made in a timely way. The registered manager and the provider had systems in place to turn their vision and values into ensuring that they consistently provided a service that was safe, effective, compassionate and of good quality.

People were safe because there were effective risk assessments in place, and systems to keep them safe from abuse or harm. There was sufficient numbers of staff to support people safely. Staff took appropriate precautions to ensure people were protected from the risk of acquired infections. People’s medicines were managed safely, and there was evidence of learning from incidents.

People’s needs had been assessed and they had care plans that took account of their individual needs, preferences, and choices. Staff had regular supervision and they had been trained to meet people’s individual needs effectively. The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were being met, and staff understood their roles and responsibilities to seek people’s consent prior to care and support being provided. Where required, people had been supported to have enough to eat and drink to maintain their health and wellbeing. They were also supported to access healthcare services.

People were supported by caring, friendly and respectful staff. They were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff regularly reviewed the care provided to people with their input to ensure that this continued to meet their individual needs, in a person-centred way. The provider had an effective system to handle complaints and concerns. Where people were able to remain in their own homes, staff ensured that they remained comfortable, dignified and pain-free at the end of their lives.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We saw that each person received an assessment of their care needs, including any risks associated with their care provision. In all the cases we looked at, we found that the care provided matched with the care required and this was what people had agreed to. We saw that the care was provided by a sufficient number of suitably qualified and trained staff.

We saw the service had effective systems to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. These included team leader visits, care documentation audits and surveys. There was an effective complaints system available and comments and complaints people made were responded to appropriately.