Care Village Care

Updated 7 January 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 was carried out by three inspectors.

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 unannounced. Inspection activity started on 9 November and ended on 17 November. We visited the office location on 9 and 10 November 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

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 three people who used the service. We spoke with care staff, the deputy manager, the registered manager and the regional manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records, medication administration records and the daily notes recorded by care staff. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and training records.

After the inspection

We contacted three relatives via telephone about their experience of the care provided for their family members .We asked the registered manager to provide us with a variety of policies and procedures and additional information. All information was sent within the required timeframe. We used all this information to help form our judgements detailed within this report.

Updated 7 January 2022

About the service

Care Village Care is an Extra Care Housing service that provides personal care to people in their own apartments in one building. At the time of the inspection eight people were receiving this care. 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.

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

People were not always protected from the risks associated with medicines. People’s medicine records were not always correctly completed. This placed people’s safety at risk. Risk assessments did not always reflect people’s current needs.

The provider’s auditing processes had failed to identify these issues. Some people and relatives were not aware who the manager of this service was; some also felt their concerns were not always acted on.

We have made a recommendation to the provider about this.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and/or neglect. There were sufficient numbers of trained and suitably qualified staff to provide safe care for people. People were protected from the risk of the spread of infection and the provider had robust COVID-19 policies and procedures in place. Accidents and incidents were investigated appropriately.

People received care that protected them from discrimination. Staff were well trained and received supervision of their role and assessment of their competency. People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. Staff had limited involvement with other health and social care professionals when care was provided. Care records did not always contain reference to what would happen if a person needed to see a medical professional. We did observe the deputy manager supporting a person with attending a GP appointment.

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 felt staff were kind and caring and they were treated with dignity and respect. People’s right to privacy was respected and independence was encouraged. People were encouraged to discuss their care needs and to request changes to their care package where needed.

People received care that was personalised to their needs, choices and preferences. The provider had systems in place that enabled them to provide documentation in alternative formats; making information accessible for all. Some people and relatives were concerned they or their family members were at risk of people becoming lonely and socially isolated. The registered manager had started to act to address this. The provider had a process in place to respond to formal complaints in accordance with their complaints policy. End of Life Care was not currently provided; however, staff had received training in this area.

Staff felt able to approach the registered manager with any concerns. The registered manager was knowledgeable about the regulatory requirements of their role and they felt were supported by the senior management.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the ‘Safe’ section of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.