We carried out a review of the data available to us about Queenscourt on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Queenscourt, you can give feedback on this service.
Queenscourt is a supported living scheme. It provides personal care for people with mental healthcare needs. At the time of this inspection, there were three people using the service. 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.
The provider also runs a care home which is adjacent to the supported living unit at 20 Queenscourt.
People’s experience of using this service:
People and their representatives were satisfied with the care provided. People were safe in the service. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been assessed. There was detailed guidance for staff on how to keep people safe and minimise risks to people.
People were protected from abuse. Staff had received training on how to safeguard people and were aware of the procedure to follow if they suspected that people were subject to abuse.
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; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People received their prescribed medicines. There were suitable arrangements for the safe administration of medicines. Medicine administration records (MAR) were appropriately completed.
Fire safety arrangements were in place and staff were aware of action to take to safeguard people in the event of a fire.
The service had taken measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID -19 and other infections.
The service provided people with person-centred care. People’s care needs had been carefully assessed prior to them coming to them being accepted for the supported living scheme. Care plans were comprehensive and had been reviewed with people and their representatives.
The service had a policy on ensuring equality and valuing diversity. Staff provided care and support that met people’s diverse and individual preferences.
People participated in some activities within the supported living scheme. However, there is a need to encourage people to review their activities programme and consider starting to go out into the community again.
There was a complaints procedure and people knew how to complain. Complaints recorded had been promptly responded to.
The service was well managed. Management monitored the quality of the services provided via regular audits and checks.
The results of individual surveys indicated that people were satisfied with the care and services provided.
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
This is the first comprehensive inspection of the service. At this inspection we have rated the service as Good. This is the first comprehensive inspection since the service was registered in April 2019. We carried out a focused inspection in November 2020. The service was not rated however a breach of regulation was found. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected:
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. At the focused inspection of 27 November 2020 we found risks related to staffing arrangements. The service did not have adequate numbers of staff deployed to meet the needs of people. This was a breach of Regulation 18 (Staffing). At this inspection, we found there were sufficient staff to attend to people’s needs. Care staff had been carefully recruited and pre-employment checks had been carried out. They were well trained and were knowledgeable regarding people’s needs. The overall rating for the service is Good.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines, infection control, meals provided, personal care and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks
People’s experience of using this service:
There were suitable arrangements for the administration of medicines. Medicine administration record charts (MAR) had been properly completed. Medicine audits had been carried out.
We were not confident that the staffing levels were adequate. Some people and staff could not confirm that the allocated staff were always on duty. The duty rota was not sufficiently informative or accurate.
The premises were clean and tidy. Suitable infection prevention and control measures and practices were in place to keep people safe and prevent the spread of the corona virus and other infections. Staff had received appropriate training. They had access to sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE).
There were suitable fire safety measures in place. Fire alarm checks and risk assessments were in place.
Difficulties had been encountered in the provision of personal care to some people. Although people had been prompted to ensure they took care of their own personal hygiene, further improvements were needed.
People had been consulted and the feedback indicated that they were satisfied with the services provided. However, further improvements are needed to ensure that consultations regularly included the provision of meals. This is to ensure that people's choices and preferences are responded to.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
This is the first inspection of the service since it was registered in 2019. We have not awarded a rating to the service on this occasion.
Why we inspected:
We undertook this targeted inspection as we had concerns regarding the service, and we wanted to check that people were well cared for. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not award a rating or change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns however, there are areas where improvements were needed. Please see the safe, Responsive and Well Led section of this report.
Enforcement:
We have identified a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2018 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to Regulation 18 (Staffing). You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Follow up:
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress.