Showell Court

Updated 29 April 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 conducted 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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and healthcare agencies. 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 three people and one relative of people who received a service. We also spoke with four staff members, the registered manager and the head of service. We looked at four people’s care records, records of accidents, incidents, compliments and complaints and quality assurance records. We also looked at two staff recruitment records.

After the inspection

We reviewed further information sent to us by the registered manager. This included minutes from customer meetings, training data, and feedback from people and relatives collated by the provider.

Updated 29 April 2020

About the service

Showell Court is an extra care service providing personal care to people aged 55 and over. At the time of the inspection there were 41 people receiving a regulated activity. People using the service lived in one of 64 self-contained apartments. Communal facilities included a restaurant, garden and large lounge.

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

We found people did not always receive their medicines as prescribed. Errors in the administration of medicines had not always been identified in a timely way. However, the registered manager had introduced additional checks and safeguards relating to specific medicines to reduce the risk of medicines errors. Checks were also being carried out more frequently to ensure any mistakes were quickly identified.

People told us they felt safe. Staff knew how to identify and report concerns relating to people’s safety and well-being. Risks were assessed and managed to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. People received timely support from a consistent staff team.

People’s needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure their care needs were met. Staff received training relevant to their role and felt supported by the management team. People received sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain their health. People were supported to access healthcare agencies when required.

Staff sought people’s consent before providing care and decisions about people’s care and treatment were made in line with law and guidance. 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 described the staff who supported them as kind and helpful. People were supported to make their own decisions about daily living. Staff encouraged and supported people to maintain their independence and their dignity was valued and privacy respected.

People’s care was responsive to their changing needs. People and, where appropriate, their relatives were involved in the assessment, planning and review of their care. People were supported to follow their interests and encouraged to participate in events and activities to reduce the risk of social isolation. People knew how to raise a concern if they were unhappy about the service they received.

People and staff felt the service was well managed and were given opportunities to share their views about the service. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities as a registered person. Staff described the management team as helpful, welcoming and responsive. The registered and deputy managers carried out auditing to ensure the quality of care provided and were keen to further improve people’s experiences of care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 5 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.