Background to this inspection
Updated
3 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of an inspector.
The service type
This domiciliary care 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
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider, including the previous inspection report. 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 looked at notifications and any safeguarding alerts we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law.
During the inspection
We visited Bentley Grange and the Carewatch office and met with people who lived there and the staff that supported them. We met or spoke with 11 people to understand their views and experiences of the service and we observed how staff supported people. We spoke with the registered manager, area manager, deputy managers and five members of staff.
We reviewed the care records of four people and a range of other documents. For example, medicine records, four staff recruitment files; staff training records and records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with four visitors who visited the service and two professionals who regularly visit the service.
Updated
3 April 2020
Carewatch (Bentley Grange) is a domiciliary care service situated in Hailsham, East Sussex. They provide personal care for people living in extra care housing in a purpose-built block of flats that could accommodate up to 84 people. Extra care housing is designed for people who need some help to look after themselves, but not at the level provided by a residential care home. People living in extra care housing have their own accommodation and have care staff that are available when needed. The people supported by the service had a wide range of needs including decreased mobility, general frailty, dementia, care needs related to age and people who live with a learning disability. There were 31 people being supported by Carewatch at this time.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided were in place. There were areas of peoples’ documentation that needed to be improved to ensure staff had the necessary up to date information to provide consistent, safe care. Some care plans lacked the guidance for a new care need and changes to care needs were not clearly defined. The care plans were immediately updated with the necessary changes to needs with guidance for staff to follow. These shortfalls had not impacted on good outcomes for people due to the knowledge of the staff.
People received safe care and support by sufficient numbers of staff who had been appropriately recruited, trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. One person told us they “Totally trust the staff here, I feel safe with the care staff.” People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. We saw that people were supported to be as independent as possible with their personal care and mobility. Medicines were given safely to people by trained and knowledgeable staff, who had been assessed as competent.
Staff received essential training to meet people’s needs. All new staff completed an induction programme where they got to know people and their needs well. One staff member said, “We have regular training and we get support to complete training.” Where there was an assessed need, people were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. Referrals and advice was sought from relevant health care professionals to ensure people remained as healthy as possible. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were asked for their consent prior to any care or support tasks being completed. The registered manager had taken the necessary steps to ensure that people only received lawful care that was in line with legislation.
Everyone we spoke to was consistent in their views that staff were kind, caring and supportive. One person said, “Very kind and polite staff.” People were relaxed, comfortable and happy in the company of staff. People’s independence was considered important by all staff and their privacy and dignity was promoted.
Staff were committed to delivering care in a person-centred way based on people's preferences and wishes. There was a stable staff team who were knowledgeable about the people they supported and had built trusting and meaningful relationships with them. People were encouraged to go out and form relationships with family and members of the community.
People, their relatives and health care professionals had the opportunity to share their views about the service. Complaints made by people or their relatives were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
People that were supported by Carewatch, their relatives and members of staff were actively engaged in developing the service. The registered manager and the staff team actively worked in partnership with other agencies to support the development of joined-up care.
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 requires improvement (published 24 September 2018). Since this rating was awarded the provider has altered its legal entity. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
This service was registered with us on 17/04/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on our inspection programme.
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.