London Care (Mary Seacole House)

Updated 3 July 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector conducted this inspection.

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 or 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 service. At the time of the inspection all 24 people living at the service received support from care staff with personal care. The service had a manager registered with 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This is because the location provided extra care housing and people living there are often out. We wanted to be sure that people would be available to speak with us.

What we did before inspection:

We reviewed the information we held in relation the service, which included notifications about events at the service which the provider is legally required to inform us about, for example safeguarding concerns. We received information from representatives of the local authority, which included the commissioning and safeguarding teams. 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.

During the inspection:

We spoke with seven people who used the service and one relative. We spoke with eight staff members, which included four support staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager, the activities coordinator and the regional manager. On the first day of the inspection we spoke with the local authority’s commissioning and transformation lead for extra care schemes. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at four people’s care records, five staff recruitment, training and supervision records, the complaints log and compliments folder, the activities schedule, staff rosters, and audits and other documents related to the management of the service.

After the inspection:

Following our visit to the service we spoke by telephone with the relatives of three people. We contacted three health and social care professionals with experience of using the service for people they supported and received comments from one professional.

Updated 3 July 2019

About the service:

Mary Seacole House provides extra care housing for up to 30 people, including younger adults with physical disabilities, older people with physical frailties and/or people living with dementia. People using the service live in ordinary flats in a property with facilities that included a communal lounge, cafeteria and rear garden. At the time of the inspection 24 people were living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received individual care that took account of their needs and wishes. They were consulted when staff carried out assessments and developed care plans. People and their relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. One relative said, “I am so happy with the carers I baked them a cake to show my gratitude.” We observed that people enjoyed being with staff, who supported them in a respectful way.

There were systems in place to ensure people received their care and support in a safe manner. Sufficient staff were deployed so that people experienced a punctual, reliable and consistently delivered service. Staff were safely recruited and had received training in how to support people safely, for example with moving and positioning.

People were supported by staff to meet their identified health care needs. Staff were provided with training, supervision and other managerial support to assist them to provide effective care. Where required, people were supported to meet their nutritional needs. Staff recognised when people’s health, independence and functioning abilities had declined, and they notified relevant external professionals including GPs and social workers.

People were to make their own choices and decisions wherever possible. Staff knew people well and supported them to live as independently as they wished to and were able to.

People were supported each day in line with their identified personal care needs and expressed preferences in their care plan. Activities took place to offer people social stimulation and entertainment, if they wished to participate. Complaints were taken seriously by the provider and responded to sensitively.

People and relatives told us the service was well managed. They thought the registered manager had made a noticeable difference, which was also recognised by an award from the provider. Staff expressed they felt valued and supported. There were clear processes to monitor the quality of the service and support the management and staff team to achieve ongoing improvements.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating of this service was Requires improvement (published 21 July 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected:

This service was registered with us on 24 May 2018 and this is the first inspection. This is a planned comprehensive inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection guidelines. We may inspect sooner if any concerning information is received.

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