Updated 25 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
The inspection was carried out by an inspector.
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.
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 available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 14 November 2019 and ended on 21 November 2019. We visited the office location on both days and visited people in their own homes on the second day.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service including notifications which the provider is required by law to send us about certain events that happen within the service. We used all of this information to plan our 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We visited six people in their own homes and a relative and spoke with them about their experiences of their care. We spoke with the registered manager, the scheme manager, the Nominated Individual and six members of care staff.
We reviewed a range of records including policies and procedures, and records relating to the management and monitoring of the quality of the service such as audits and surveys. We reviewed three people’s care records and pathway tracked one person’s care. This means we checked to ensure people had received all the care they required. We looked at three staff files in relation to staff recruitment, supervision and training.
After the inspection
The registered manager sent us further information we had requested. We contacted three health and social care professionals who were involved with the service for their views.