Levington Court is extra care sheltered scheme. The service provides personal care to people living in their own flats at the scheme and also to people living in the local community. To prevent unplanned admissions to hospital and care homes, the service provided a flexible community support service for people living with dementia. When we inspected on 12 and 13 May 2016 there were 62 people using the service.This was an announced inspection. The provider was contacted on the morning of 12 May 2016 and given short notice of our intention to carry out the inspection. This was because the location is a community based service and we needed to be sure that someone would be present in the office.
The service was managed by a registered manager. 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.
The registered manager provided exceptionally strong, clear leadership and ensured an enabling and person centred culture was firmly embedded in the service. People, relatives, stakeholders and staff spoke very highly of the leadership, and held the registered manager in high regard. There was a clear commitment to put people at the heart of the service, by empowering and working in partnership with health and social care professionals.
People, relatives and care professionals were enthused about the very skilled and motivated staff. On–going recruitment ensured there were enough staff to provide a flexible service, which was ‘skill matched’ to meet the preferences and assessed needs of people they were supporting. People were involved in the recruitment process which focused on care workers being able to demonstrate the right values and character. Training and development was a high priority and linked to a comprehensive structured induction, regular supervision and resulted in an enabling and continual learning culture. Staff were knowledgeable and well trained to meet the changing needs of people. Staff felt supported and valued and spoke positively about the provider as an employer.
People received care and support which was very responsive to their physical and mental health needs, rights, wishes and preferences. People or their representatives, where appropriate, participated in the planning of their care. Care plans provided detailed information about people so staff knew about the whole person, and exactly how they wanted to be supported. This ensured that people were supported as individuals and encouraged to maintain their independence in ways that were important to them. Where care workers had identified concerns in people’s wellbeing appropriate prompt action was taken to contact other health and social care professionals to support people’s wellbeing.
People who used and worked for the service felt able to express their views and to influence service delivery. The service was committed to person centred care and this approach underpinned everything they did. There was an excellent rapport between care workers and people using the service. Staff expressed a genuine interest in people, especially people living with dementia. High importance and time was spent learning about them as individuals and this was used to improve the quality of their current and future life.
There were robust and effective quality assurance systems which led to service improvements and continual development. The registered manager had good oversight of the service and was committed to gaining feedback from people, whether positive or negative. They were innovative in the ways they did this and used research and best practice, trying different approaches and communication systems to meet people’s range of needs and abilities.
People told us they felt safe and trusted the care workers who came into their home. They were protected from the risk of harm, as management and care workers had undertaken training to recognise, respond and report safeguarding concerns. They felt confident to speak up if they had concerns which ensured referrals were made promptly to the appropriate professionals. This demonstrated effective oversight of potential or actual risks.