Updated 6 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
One inspector and one 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 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 also provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community.
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
We gave the service 72 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service operates across different locations 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 07 October 2019 and ended on 18 October 2019. We visited the office location on 16 October 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, a care and support manager, senior care worker, and two care workers. We sampled a range of records. These included four people’s care records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, compliments and complaints and training records.
We received feedback via email from one external social care professional during the inspection period.