Valley Care - Harrison Park

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

The Inspection team consisted of two inspectors, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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 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.

The service had a manager registered with the CQC. 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 short notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider’s representative or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service 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. We used all this information to plan and support our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the regional manager, registered manager, quality manager, team leaders and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed. These included staff training, supervision and appraisal, and quality monitoring.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at medication information and records.

Updated 6 December 2019

Harrison Park is an extra care housing facility, which has 65 individual flats in one large building. The company commissioned to provide domiciliary care calls to people within Harrison Park is Hales Group Limited. The service can provide care and support to people living with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health, older people, younger adults, people who misuse drugs and alcohol, people with physical disabilities and people with sensory impairment.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This means tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, 37 people were receiving personal care calls.

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

Since the last inspection, there had been improvements in medicines management, record keeping and quality monitoring. People had risk assessments and care plans which gave staff the information they needed to support people and keep them safe. Supplementary monitoring records such as food and fluid charts were well-maintained. People and their relatives were fully involved in developing and updating their planned care. People were safely supported with handling medicines; the number of medicine errors had significantly reduced.

The provider’s quality monitoring system had improved. Audits, surveys and meetings were completed, feedback was listened to and shortfalls addressed. People told us they were confident complaints would be listened to and resolved.

Staff knew how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and poor practice and knew how to raise concerns. People told us they felt safe with staff and trusted them.

Staff were recruited safely. There were enough staff to complete the care calls. Staff had received appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their role. People considered they received consistent care from a skilled staff group.

Care and support was tailored to each person's needs and preferences. People and their relatives were fully involved in developing and updating their planned care. We received positive feedback from people about the support provided to them. People had good relationships with staff and told us staff were kind and respectful.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People who used the service were supported to maintain a healthy diet when this was part of their care plan. The registered manager had developed positive links with health care professionals which promoted people’s wellbeing.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating and update for this service was requires improvement (published 25 October 2018). At the time, there were concerns with safe administration of medicines, records and ensuring a good quality assurance system.

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection, we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.