Southsea Court

Updated 7 July 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

This 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.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 May 2022 and ended on 13 May 2022. We visited the service on 12 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the service and spoke with five staff, including the registered manager, Business and Development Manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We spoke with three people and one relative. We reviewed a range of records, including four people’s care plans and risk assessments, the recruitment records for three staff, and a sample of the daily notes staff made when providing people with support. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including the provider’s policies and procedures, and regular checks and audits carried out by the management team.

Updated 7 July 2022

About the service

Southsea Court is an extra care housing service in the London Borough of Croydon. The service provides personal care and support to people living in their own flats, all located in a single, purpose-built building.

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. There were 12 people receiving personal care at the time of our inspection.

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

People spoke positively about the support they received from staff and the registered manager. They were protected from the risk of abuse by staff who had completed safeguarding training and knew to report any suspected abuse allegations. The provider followed safe recruitment practices. The service deployed enough staff on each shift to meet people’s needs. Risks to people had been assessed and guidelines were in place for staff on how to manage identified risks safely. People received the support they needed to manage their medicines safely. The provider followed safe infection control practices.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. Their views and the details in their assessments had been used to develop their care plans. Care plans reflected their individual needs and preferences. The provider supported people to take part in activities in order to reduce the risk of social isolation. People were able to maintain the relationships which were important to them.

Staff sought consent from people when offering them support. 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. Staff were supported in their roles through an induction, training programme and regular supervision.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. They were able to access a range of healthcare services when needed in order to maintain good health. Staff worked with other agencies to ensure people received effective support. The provider had a complaint procedure in place and people expressed confidence that any complaints they raised would be addressed.

People and staff spoke positively about the culture of the service. The registered manager and staff understood the responsibilities of their roles. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service which helped to drive service improvements.

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

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered by the current provider on 3 January 2020. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 10 May 2019.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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