ABC Centre

Updated 28 May 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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care 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 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 announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection so that arrangements could be made to meet with people using the service.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed any information we received about the service as well as notifications. Notifications are information about incidents and events the provider is required to send to us.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people using the service and two relatives. We spoke with five members of staff, including the registered manager, team leader, care staff and seniors. We reviewed four people’s care plans and looked at other records, including complaints and staff recruitment.

Updated 28 May 2020

The ABC centre is an extra care housing scheme providing personal care to those people who require it. At the time of our inspection 33 people were receiving support with personal care. People lived in flats with their own tenancy.

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

People received good care and support from staff who were happy and motivated. People told us they got on well with staff and that staff treated them with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to take an active part in planning their own care and in the running of the service.

People felt safe and were able to call staff in the event of an emergency. People were protected because staff were trained in safeguarding adults and felt confident in reporting any concerns. People received safe support with their medicines when required. Improvements in medicine administration had been made in response to a high number of errors. Staff spoke positively about the improvements that had been made.

Care was person centred in nature and took account of people’s individual preferences and wishes. This was reviewed regularly so that care remained current. Activities and events were planned to encourage people to socialise and build friendships. A committee had been formed to look at how activities and events could be improved in the future.

Staff received good training and support in their roles. The registered manager acted on requests for specific training. For example, staff had requested end of life training and this was in the process of being organised. 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.

The service was well led. There were systems in place to monitor safety and quality, and action was taken when shortfalls were identified. The staff steam was motivated and valued and told us they communicated and worked well together.

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 (report published 26 August 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.