The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Care UK Community Care Services Friary Court Extra Care Scheme

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Friary Court, Burton Street, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 5AE (01733) 566013

Provided and run by:
Mears Homecare Limited

All Inspections

26 January 2015

During a routine inspection

We undertook this unannounced inspection of Care UK Community Care Services Friary Court Extra Care Scheme on 26 January 2015.

At our last inspection in December 2013 the provider was meeting the regulations that we assessed.

Care UK Community Care Services Friary Court Extra Care Scheme provides personal care services within Friary Court. At the time of our inspection 26 people were receiving a personal care service. This included six people in rehabilitation beds that are provided in partnership with intermediate care services run by the NHS. The six people in the rehabilitation beds have six weeks of care to either improve their health to enable them to return home, or to make an application to request a permanent place in Friary Court.

Friary Court is located on the edge of the city of Peterborough.

The service did not have a registered manager in post, but an application to register a manager had been made at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were poor arrangements for the management of medicines which meant that people were put at risk of not receiving their medicines as prescribed.

The risk of harm for people was reduced because staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. There was a recruitment process in place and only suitable staff had been employed. There were sufficient staff numbers to meet people’s care and support needs but the deployment of staff needed to be improved.

Staff received an induction when they first started working and were supported in their roles through regular supervision with arranged dates for annual appraisals.

People found the staff and managers to be caring and kind. Improvements needed to be made to ensure people’s privacy and dignity were respected and confidential information was secured.

The manager had identified that care plans needed to be improved because they had not been written in detail nor been updated, which could lead to inconsistent care being provided. They had put actions in place to bring about improvement in these so that staff had sufficient guidance to help them meet the needs of the people they provided care to.

The management team was accessible and approachable so that staff and people could raise any concerns.

Improvements were needed to ensure there were arrangements in place so that staff knew how or to whom to escalate any minor concerns. The manager and care manager had started to review the quality of the service provided so that people could be confident their needs could be met.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

2 December 2013

During a routine inspection

People's rights to give their consent to their support and care were respected. People's written agreement was also obtained regarding their agreed support and care.

People who we spoke with had positive comments, including using the word, 'Excellent', about the standard and quality of support and care provided. In addition, people were provided with opportunities to maintain their level of independence and to maintain their health and wellbeing.

There was enough suitable and safe equipment available to meet people's support, care and therapy needs. One person said that they had the right amount of equipment to meet their physical needs. The equipment was maintained to ensure that it was safe to be used.

Staff were supported and trained to safely do their job, which they said they enjoyed. People, including visitors to the home, said they had confidence in staff members' capabilities to meet people's support and care needs safely and appropriately.

Records were kept up-to-date and secure to protect people who used the service from unsafe and inappropriate support and care. The records also demonstrated that the premises were safe for people to live, work and visit.

15 January 2013

During a routine inspection

People that we spoke with told us that they felt respected by staff and were able to make choices about the care and support they received. Overall, they were very happy with the care and support they received. One person said," People are nice here and you make friends."

We looked at three sets of records and found that the support plans were clear, reviewed regularly and gave details of the persons' specific needs so that staff knew how to care for them. Risk assessments we reviewed were also up to date.

The communal areas of Friary Court were clean, spacious and well maintained.

We found there were enough staff with relevant knowledge and experience to meet people's needs. One person said,"There is always somebody here to help you."

There was an effective complaints process in place and people who used the service knew how to raise any concerns or complaints. We spoke with support staff, the manager and looked at the complaints file and found that any complaints that had been raised were managed appropriately.

14 February 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

As the purpose of this review was to assess improvements made in relation to shortfalls identified during our previous review of compliance in October 2011, we did not request information directly from people using the service on this occasion. However, during our previous visit we spoke to people who told us that both the quality of care they received and the scheme's staff were good.

10 October 2011

During a routine inspection

People we spoke with told us they liked living at Friary Court: one person reported, 'It's my home now and it feels like my home. It's the best move I've ever made'. We received many positive comments about the staff: one person stated, 'The carers on the whole are very good, one or two go beyond themselves to really look after me'. One gentleman told us he particularly enjoyed talking with the overseas staff stating, 'I'm a well travelled man and really look forward to talking to people from different cultures and religions. I learn so much'. One person told us she particularly enjoyed the daily communal meal, stating, 'I love lunching with other people, it's no fun chewing on your own'. One relative told us, 'It's a fantastic place, mum's really happy there'.

Social and care professionals also rated the service well. The manager of an intermediate care service that commissions rehabilitation beds from Friary Court told us, 'The staff are helpful and obliging and work well with our therapists. Any small concerns or issues we have are always resolved quickly with the care manager there'.