St Augustines Place

Updated 16 April 2020

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to older people living in supported living flats. Not everyone living at St Augustine’s Place receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations.

Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people who used the service to ask about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with the registered manager and three support workers. We looked at five records in relation to people who used the service. We also looked at staff files as well as records relating to the management of the service, recruitment, policies, training and systems for monitoring quality.

Updated 16 April 2020

About the service: St Augustine’s Place 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. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service. The service comprised of 20 flats and 14 bungalows. At the time of visit there were 34 people receiving support with personal care from the service.

What life is like for people using this service:

• There were sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff to meet the needs of people living at St Augustine’s Place. People told us the staff were kind and caring.

• St Augustine’s Place provided people with opportunities to engage in meaningful activities and supported people with this where it was part of their agreed care plan. This reduced the risk of social isolation.

• People who required support to maintain good nutrition and hydration told us they received the support they needed.

• Information about people’s preferences in coming to the end of their life were documented. The service worked well with other agencies to ensure people had a comfortable, pain free death.

• People told us staff were respectful, asked for their consent and gave them the privacy they wished for.

• Where required, people were supported to make appointments with other healthcare professionals and attend appointments.

• People were actively involved in the planning of their care and had access to several ways to give feedback on the service they received. People’s feedback was acted on.

See more information in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection on 1 September 2016 the service was rated Good.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection following the service’s registration with the Commission.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our reinspection schedule for those services rated Good.