Fosse Healthcare - Armstrong Gardens

Updated 27 May 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an Expert by Experiences (EXE). An EXE 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. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care [and support] service.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 4 May 2023 and ended on 11 May 2023. We visited the location’s office on 4 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 2 members of the support staff, office support, the registered manager, area manager, quality assurance manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 9 people’s care records, medication administration records and the daily notes recorded by care staff. We looked at 2 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 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 also contacted 9 other support workers and administration staff who were not present during the inspection. We asked them for their views on the care and support provided and the management of the service. Five staff responded. We used all this information to help form our judgements detailed within this report.

Updated 27 May 2023

About the service

Fosse Healthcare - Armstrong Gardens is an Extra Care Housing service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. People have access to communal areas such as a community centre and staff are on hand if needed. Support with personal care was provided for 9 people at the time of this inspection.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care for or support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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 received safe care that ensured the risk of abuse and neglect was reduced, they received their medicines in a safe way and staff reduced the risk of the spread of infection. Risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed, monitored, and reviewed; changes were always implemented quickly. There were enough skilled and qualified staff to provide care. Any accidents and incidents were reviewed, where needed changes were made to people’s care to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Prior to people receiving care, their needs were assessed to ensure they could receive suitable care that met their health needs. 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 worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to provide timely and effective care.

People found staff to be kind, caring and respectful. They received dignified care that respected their privacy. Independence was encouraged. People were consulted about their care package, and they felt able to talk with staff about changes to care.

People received person-centred care that met their individual needs. People were supported to maintain friendships and relationships with family and to meet new people. This included regular events in communal areas such as the community centre, which could be accessed by others from the local community. People’s individual way of communicating were embraced and respected, this included supporting people who may be blind or deaf or had a learning disability. People knew how to make a complaint if needed and felt their concerns would be listened to.

Robust quality assurance processes were in place. The registered manager worked with the provider to continually assess and improve the quality of care people received. The registered manager was knowledgeable about the regulatory requirements of their role, and they were supported by the provider to carry out their role effectively.

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 13 July 2021, and this is 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.