Gladstone House

Updated 13 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an Expert by Experience (EXE). An EXE is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because 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

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority, other health and social care professionals and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten people and one relative across two buildings about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of the care staff, the care manager, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records, medication administration records and the daily notes recorded by care staff. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment, supervision and training. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and training records.

After the inspection

We asked the registered manager to provide us with a variety of policies and procedures and additional information. All information was sent within the required timeframe. We used all this information to help form our judgements detailed within this report.

Updated 13 May 2022

About the service

Gladstone house is an Extra Care Housing service that provides personal care to people in their own flats in two separate buildings. A rehabilitation service is also provided which supports people with regaining their independence following a stay in hospital. The aim for these people was to return to their own home. At the time of the inspection 44 people were receiving support with some elements of their 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 received care that kept them safe from harm. Risks to their health and safety were regularly assessed and updated as their care needs reduced or increased. There were enough staff in place to support people safely whilst still encouraging people to do as much for themselves as possible. People’s medicines were managed safely. The provider had ensured people were protected from the risk of the spread of infection. Accidents and incidents were investigated, and actions taken to prevent the risk of recurrence.

People’s care was provided in accordance with best practice guidelines and legislation. Staff were well-trained and received regular supervision of their competency to carry out their role. People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle through making wise food choices. Staff worked alongside other health and social care professionals to provide people with high quality, relevant and timely care.

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 found the staff to be kind and caring and were treated with respect and dignity. People were involved with decisions about their care. People’s privacy was respected by staff. People’s ability to do things independently of staff was continually reviewed and assessed.

People received person-centred care and were consulted on the care provided and any changes that may need to be made. People were provided with information in an accessible format. People were encouraged to socialise with others and to take part in activities that were important to them. Complaints were handled in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

People received a good standard of care and support with individualised aims and goals in place for all. Helping people achieve positive outcome from their stay was a fundamental aim of the staff and management. People told us they would recommend this service to others. People and staff praised the management of this service. The registered manager had a good understanding of the regulatory requirements of their role. External health and social care professionals praised the approach of staff and management.

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

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, (published on 4 July 2019). The new provider has addressed the concerns of the last inspection and the rating for this service has improved to good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Gladstone House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.