Freeman Court

Updated 26 March 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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of 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 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 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:

This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 24 hours’ notice because people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Inspection activity started on 8 March 2022 and ended on 10 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 8 March.

What we did before the inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We reviewed statutory notifications submitted by the provider. Statutory notifications contain information providers are required to send to us about significant events that take place within services. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with five people using the service, two care support workers, the registered manager and the operations manager. We observed interactions between people and staff. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records, medicines administration records and arrangements for two people and other records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection:

We spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received feedback from a healthcare professional. We continued to speak with the registered manager and operations manager and sought clarification about the evidence gathered. We also reviewed additional documentation relating to staffing and the management of the service.

Updated 26 March 2022

About the service

Freeman Court was previously known as London Care (Freeman Court). London Borough of Croydon took back the management and operation of the service from the previous care provider in January 2020.

Freeman Court provides personal care and support to people living in self-contained flats located in a single building. This is known as extra care housing and is operated by an independent housing provider which also happens to be London Borough of Croydon. 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. At the time of this inspection there were 22 people being provided with personal care and support by the service.

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

People were safe at the service. Staff had been trained to safeguard people from abuse. Staff understood identified risks to people’s safety and wellbeing and the action to take to support people to keep safe. Staff made sure people’s flats and the general premises were clean and hygienic. They followed current practice when providing personal care and when preparing and handling food which reduced infection and hygiene risks.

There were enough suitably skilled and experienced staff to support people and meet their needs. The provider carried out recruitment and criminal records checks on new staff to make sure they were suitable to support people. Staff received relevant training and supervision to help them meet people’s needs. Staff were well supported by managers and were encouraged to learn and improve in their role. Senior staff carried out checks on staff to make sure they were carrying out their duties appropriately and to a high standard.

People were involved in planning their care and support and could state their preferences for how this was provided. People’s records reflected their needs and preferences. People were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. People’s choices for how this was provided were respected and staff delivered this in line with their wishes.

Staff were kind, caring and knew people well and understood how their identified needs should be met. They respected people’s rights to privacy and to be treated with dignity. People were supported to be as independent as they could be with daily living tasks. People’s wishes for the support they wanted to receive at the end of their life had not been routinely recorded. The provider was taking action after the inspection to improve this.

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.

Where the provider was responsible for this, people were supported to take their prescribed medicines and staff made sure people could access support from healthcare professionals when needed. Staff encouraged people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs.

People were supported to undertake activities and interests that were important to them. Relatives were free to visit their family members if they wished. The provider was looking at ways to support people to be more active and included in events involving the local community.

People had less positive experiences about the quality of the premises. Although this was out of the scope of this inspection we saw senior staff worked closely with the housing provider and informed them promptly of any issues or concerns relating to the environment and premises.

The provider had systems in place to obtain people’s feedback about how the service could be improved. The provider undertook checks at regular intervals, to monitor, review and improve the quality and safety of the service and addressed any issues found through these checks.

There were arrangements in place to make sure any accidents, incidents and complaints would be fully investigated and people would be involved and informed of the outcome. Staff worked proactively with healthcare professionals involved in people’s care and acted on their recommendations to deliver care and support that met people’s needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 3 January 2020 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

We also looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

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