Updated 15 December 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 team consisted of one inspector and two Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
The service provides care and housing support to people living in purpose-built housing. 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. Most of the schemes were designed to meet the needs of older adults, although some were specialised for particular groups including adults with learning disabilities aged over 50 and people living with a particular type of dementia.
The service had two managers 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 information and to carry out a risk assessment in relation to the coronavirus pandemic to ensure the safety of the inspector and staff.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we had received about the service. This included details of its registration, previous inspection reports and any notifications of significant incidents the provider had sent us. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who worked with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and 22 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the principal head of adult social care, the service manager, the two registered managers and the interim group director adults, health and integration.
We reviewed 10 people's care records and medication administration records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance audits were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records/audits. We spoke with the quality assurance manager, a team leader and three care staff. We also sought feedback from a health professional within the local authority.