Winfrid House

Updated 20 February 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. 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 carried out by one 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 or 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 36 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity was carried out on 16 January 2020.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service including notifications which the provider is required by law to send us about certain events that happen within the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. 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. We reviewed feedback we had received about the service from a care professional.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person’s spouse and their relative who was visiting and spoke with three people in the communal lounge to find out about their experiences of their care. We spoke with the registered manager, the scheme manager and four members of care staff. We spoke with one health care professional who was visiting the service.

We reviewed a range of records including those relating to the management and monitoring of the quality of the service such as audits and surveys. We reviewed four people’s care records and pathway tracked two people’s care. Pathway tracking is when we check to ensure people had received all the care they required. We looked at four staff recruitment, supervision and training records.

After the inspection

The registered manager sent us further information we had requested. We received feedback from a social care professional who had been working with the service.

Updated 20 February 2020

About the service

Winfrid House consists of 27 individual flats within an extra care housing scheme. The service provides personal care for older people and adults under 65 years, some of whom were living with dementia, learning disabilities, autism, mental health, physical and/or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 15 people with personal care.

Not 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. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People told us they felt safe, secure and well treated by staff at Winfrid House. Medicines were well managed, and people received safe and appropriate support to take their medicines where required. There were enough staff on duty each day to support people safely and in a timely way. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to report any concerns. Individual and environmental risks associated with people’s health and wellbeing had been assessed and measures were in place to reduce the risks. Robust recruitment processes were in place which ensured only staff suitable to work in social care were employed.

People’s care and support needs were assessed before they started to receive a service to ensure these could be met at Winfrid House. People retained choice and control over their care and were involved in developing their care plans in line with their needs, wishes and preferences. People were supported to access routine and emergency healthcare services in order to maintain optimum health. Some people were independent with their eating and drinking, and staff supported people with their nutritional needs where required. Staff received regular supervision, appraisal and training to support them to deliver effective care.

People spoke highly of the staff who had supported them. They were very satisfied with the care they received and the respect they were shown by staff who promoted their independence, privacy and dignity. People received person centred care and support which was reviewed regularly to ensure it continued to meet their individual needs, preferences and choices. Staff had ready access to care plans and were responsive to people’s needs and wishes. People had no complaints but knew who they could speak to should this be the case and felt confident any concerns would be addressed.

The registered manager had created an open and transparent culture and people and staff felt involved in the on-going development of the service and their opinions were valued. Staff consistently told us they felt supported by the approachable management team and spoke highly of the scheme manager who had made significant improvements. The registered manager worked closely with local community groups and commissioners to promote joined up working and improve systems and processes.

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 13 December 2018 and this was their first inspection.

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.