Background to this inspection
Updated
24 September 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 was completed by one inspector and an assistant inspector.
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 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. Registered managers 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
The inspection was announced. We gave the provider 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.
What we did before the inspection
Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people and one relative about their experiences of the care provided. We spoke with two members of care staff, a duty manager, the registered manager and the area manager. We also spoke with a chef employed by an external company who provided meals for people receiving care. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records and a medication record. A number of other records were reviewed in relation to the management of the service, including quality checks, meeting minutes and accidents and incidents. We looked at two staff files to ensure they had been recruited safely and had completed the required training.
Updated
24 September 2019
About the service
Your Life (Bentley Heath) provides domiciliary care support for people living in their own flats on the outskirts of Solihull. It provides a service to older people, people living with dementia, people with physical disabilities and people with sensory impairments. At the time of our visit, the service was providing personal care to 14 people.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
A registered manager was in post and had been for around six weeks. They had worked at the service previously. They were currently being supported by the area manager, who was the registered manager at the time of our last visit.
People told us staff were exceptionally caring and went out of their way to ensure they were supported with the upmost dignity and respect. Staff were clearly passionate about their role and people receiving support felt they were given care that was ‘second to none’. Promoting independence was encouraged and people were supported to improve their daily life skills.
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; systems supported this practice.
People using the service felt safe. Where risks to people’s health and wellbeing were identified, plans were in place to manage those risks while encouraging people to remain independent.
Staff understood their responsibilities around safeguarding people and knew how to report concerns. There were enough staff to keep people safe and respond to people’s changing needs.
People’s needs were met by staff who had relevant skills and ongoing training. People were supported to access appropriate healthcare services when necessary to maintain health and wellbeing.
People and their families were involved in planning and agreeing what care and support they needed. The service was responsive to the individual needs of people which considered reducing social isolation where possible.
People and staff felt the service was well led. The provided had governance systems in place to monitor quality and safety. The registered manager was exploring further ways to involve people and staff in running the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The service was rated as Good (published 28 February 2017).
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.