Archived: Ian Gibson Court

Updated 11 December 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in a 'supported living' service. This service provides care and support to people living in one ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. Ian Gibson Court were providing care to 21 people who lived in the service at the time of our inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 5 November 2019 and ended on 6 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, the care service manager and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people's care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We sought feedback from three external health and social professionals.

Updated 11 December 2019

About the service

Ian Gibson Court is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in a 'supported living' setting. Support was provided to older people who may have other physical and mental health needs. 45 people were living at the service and Ian Gibson Court were providing support to 21 people at the time of the inspection.

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

The provider had a quality assurance system in place but this did not always drive the necessary improvement in relation to care records, including risk assessments. We have made a recommendation about this.

Despite this, people felt safe receiving care from Ian Gibson Court. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding adults from abuse. There was enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff had been recruited safely. The management of medicines was safe and improvements had been made to medicine records.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when appropriate. Staff told us they received support and training to ensure they could carry out their roles effectively.

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 supported by staff who were kind and caring. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and people’s dignity and privacy was protected by staff.

Improvements had been made to people’s care plans and included information to reflect the needs, preferences and choices of people. Further work was needed to ensure all information in people’s care plans was up to date and the registered manager acknowledged that end of life care planning was an area for development.

People were helped to avoid social isolation because they were supported to access the community and people were provided with regular care staff. People told us they felt comfortable to complain but had not needed to and that the service was flexible and would re-arrange visits to meet individual needs.

Staff spoke positively about the culture and management of the service and people told us they were happy with the service they received. Feedback from people was sought and any areas for developing the service were acted on. The service worked in partnership with other agencies to promote and support people’s wellbeing.

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 10 October 2018). A breach of regulation in relation to maintaining accurate and detailed records about people was identified. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the service had improved and was no longer in breach of this regulation. However, further work was needed and we have made a recommendation about this.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.