Brookhurst Court

Updated 8 July 2022

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 team consisted of one 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 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.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice because people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Inspection activity started and ended on 17 June 2022 when we visited the location’s office.

What we did before the inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We reviewed statutory notifications submitted by the provider. Statutory notifications contain information providers are required to send to us about significant events that take place within services. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with two people using the service and two relatives, three care support workers, the registered manager and team leader and two visiting social care professionals. We telephoned two relatives. We observed interactions between people and staff. We reviewed a range of records including two people’s care records, medicines administration records and other records relating to the management of the service including staff records and quality assurance audits.

Updated 8 July 2022

About the service

Brookhurst Court was previously known as London Care (Brookhurst Court). London Borough of Croydon took back the management and operation of the service from the previous care provider in January 2020.

Brookhurst Court provides personal care and support to people living in self-contained flats located in a single building. This is known as extra care housing and is operated by a different team within the London Borough of Croydon. 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. At the time of this inspection there were four older people being provided with personal care and support by the service.

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

There were enough staff to support people and staff recruitment procedures were in place to check staff were safe to work with people. Staff understood how to safeguard people from abuse and neglect and processes were in place to do this. Staff followed best practice in reducing the risk of infections such as COVID-19. The registered manager liaised closely with the local authority responsible for the premises to ensure health and safety and cleanliness standards were maintained. People’s medicines were managed safely by staff through effective processes.

The provider trained staff to understand and meet people’s needs and staff received supervision from their line manager. Staff felt well supported in their roles. People were supported to maintain their mental and physical health and to maintain contact with professionals involved in their care. People received food and drink of their choice with support from staff where necessary. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and relatives were positive about the staff who supported them and were comfortable with them. People were involved in their care and their care plans were based on their individual needs and preferences. People were supported to improve their independent living skills as far as possible and staff treated people with dignity and respect. People’s care plans reflected their needs and preferences and staff understood people’s needs well. Activities were available for people to take part in, such as a gardening project alongside local college students. Relatives could visit family members without unnecessary restrictions. People were encouraged to raise any concerns or complaints and the provider had a complaints team to investigate if necessary.

The registered manager notified CQC of significant events, such as allegations of abuse, as required by law. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities. The provider communicated openly with people and staff through regular meetings and surveys. Staff felt well supported by the registered manager. The provider undertook checks to monitor, review and improve the quality and safety of the service and addressed any issues found promptly.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 3 January 2020 and this was the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 12 June 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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