Archived: Ian Gibson Court

Ian Gibson Court is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in a 'supported living' setting. Support was provided to older people who may have other physical and mental health needs. 45 people were living at the service and Ian Gibson Court were providing support to 21 people at the time of the inspection.

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

The provider had a quality assurance system in place but this did not always drive the necessary improvement in relation to care records, including risk assessments. We have made a recommendation about this.

Despite this, people felt safe receiving care from Ian Gibson Court. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding adults from abuse. There was enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff had been recruited safely. The management of medicines was safe and improvements had been made to medicine records.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when appropriate. Staff told us they received support and training to ensure they could carry out their roles effectively.

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 were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and people’s dignity and privacy was protected by staff.

Improvements had been made to people’s care plans and included information to reflect the needs, preferences and choices of people. Further work was needed to ensure all information in people’s care plans was up to date and the registered manager acknowledged that end of life care planning was an area for development.

People were helped to avoid social isolation because they were supported to access the community and people were provided with regular care staff. People told us they felt comfortable to complain but had not needed to and that the service was flexible and would re-arrange visits to meet individual needs.

Staff spoke positively about the culture and management of the service and people told us they were happy with the service they received. Feedback from people was sought and any areas for developing the service were acted on. The service worked in partnership with other agencies to promote and support people’s wellbeing.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 10 October 2018). A breach of regulation in relation to maintaining accurate and detailed records about people was identified. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the service had improved and was no longer in breach of this regulation. However, further work was needed and we have made a recommendation about this.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ian Gibson Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Ian Gibson Court provides care and support to people living in a 'supported living' setting, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support. Support was provided to older people who may have other physical and mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 20 people receiving personal care and support.

This was the first inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 June 2017.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Records were not always detailed and did not provide staff with enough guidance to meet people’s needs.

The provider used a range of quality assurance systems including audits; however, these were not always robust and did not consistently identify shortfalls with documentation. We made a recommendation about this.

Medicines were administered by trained staff. Lack of clear direction regarding as required (PRN) and topical medicines were addressed following the inspection to ensure they were administered in line with people’s needs.

People were supported by staff who had a good understanding of how to keep them safe. All staff had undertaken training on safeguarding adults from abuse, they displayed good knowledge on how to report any concerns and were able to describe what action they would take to protect people from harm.

Staff were recruited appropriately and there were sufficient staff to provide people with their care safely. Staff received training and supervision that enabled them to meet the needs of people they supported and deliver effective care.

Staff worked both within the service and across organisations to ensure people received effective care. People were supported by staff to ensure their healthcare needs were met and healthcare professionals' guidance was followed. Staff supported people as required to ensure they ate and drank sufficient for their needs.

The registered manager and staff demonstrated a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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 consistently reported they were treated in a kind and caring manner by staff. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and staff encouraged people to be independent.

Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and people were cared for by staff who knew them well.

People, relatives and staff were positive about the registered manager who was described as open, approachable and supportive. Staff were committed to meeting the needs of people and providing a service people wanted. People were encouraged to provide feedback on the service through an annual survey. They were also supported to raise complaints should they wish to.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.