Apex Prime Care - Place Court

Updated 21 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out this inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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. The Care Quality Commission (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

We gave three days’ notice of the inspection so the provider could contact people and their relatives to ask them to agree to talk with us on the phone as part of our inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we had about the provider, and used all this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

Inspection activity started on 24 May 2022 and ended on 14 June 2022. We visited the location’s office on 24 May 2022.

We spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives by telephone. We spoke with the registered manager and five staff members. We observed support activities in the shared areas of the service.

We reviewed records including care records for four people, recruitment records for three staff members, policies and procedures.

We reviewed all the evidence we gathered and used it to make rating judgements based on our published assessment framework.

Updated 21 July 2022

About the service

Apex Prime Care – Place Court is an extra care service. The service provides personal care support to people living at Place Court. People live in their own flats with some shared facilities.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. In this service, the Care Quality Commission can only inspect the service received by people who get support with personal care. This includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive such support, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people receiving personal care.

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

People were very happy with their experience of the service. They told us the service was “very good, no problems” and they would recommend Place Court. One person said, “The best thing is everything. I am totally happy with the care.”

The provider had processes in place to manage risks, including risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. There were sufficient staff to support people safely. There were suitable processes to manage people’s medicines, and to protect people from the risk of abuse or poor care.

People received care and support that was effective, based on detailed assessments and care plans, and delivered by staff with the necessary skills and training. 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 in a caring way. The service focused on people’s independence and dignity. People were respected as individuals. There were good relationships between people and their care workers.

People received responsive care. There were processes in place to make sure people received care according to their agreed plans, needs and preferences. People’s support included help with hobbies and interests, and social events.

The service people received was well led. The service focused on person-centred care and good outcomes for people. There were effective systems in place to manage the service, improve the quality of care people received, and support staff to deliver high quality care.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection:

We registered this service on 18 March 2021 and this was the first inspection.

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.