Background to this inspection
Updated
13 February 2019
The inspection:
• We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, 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 one adult social care inspector and an expert by experience on the first day. An expert by experience (ExE) is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Our ExE had a background in care services and was familiar with the care of older people and those living with dementia. One adult social care inspector returned to complete the inspection on the second day.
Service and service type
• Elmridge Court is an extra care scheme. The service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. 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.
• 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit. Due to the type of service we wanted to ensure the registered manager was available to support the inspection. The notice period also allowed staff to ask people using the service if they would be prepared to speak with us.
What we did:
• Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about the service, which had been collected via our ongoing monitoring of care services. This included notifications sent to us by the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. We also asked for feedback from the local authority, housing provider and professionals who work with the home. Feedback received was positive and reported no concerns.
• We asked the service to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
• During the inspection we spoke with six people living at Elmridge Court and two visiting relatives.
• We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and five care staff. We also spoke with a visiting professional and a person who ran the on-site shop.
• We reviewed four care files, five staff personnel files, medicine administration records and other records about the management of the service.
Updated
13 February 2019
About the service:
• Elmridge Court is an extra care housing scheme located in Lowton. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation here is rented from a housing provider, and is the occupant’s own home.
• Not everyone using Elmridge Court Extra Court Care Scheme receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection 24 of the 33 people living at Elmridge Court were receiving a regulated activity.
People’s experience of using this service:
• People received care which met their needs and wishes. Care plans clearly explained how people wished to be supported and how staff could keep them safe.
• The provider had systems in place to protect people from abuse. Safeguarding information was clearly displayed within the service and available in an easy read format, to ensure it was accessible to all. Staff had all received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report concerns.
• Enough staff had been deployed to meet people’s assessed needs. The service liaised closely with commissioners and social workers to ensure people’s support levels were appropriate.
• People were supported to exercise choice and take control of their lives and choose how they spent their time. Staff promoted people’s independence to ensure they retained current skills and abilities.
• People spoke positively about the standard of care and support they received, describing staff as being kind, caring and well trained.
• Staff spoke positively about the support and training provided. Staff completed an induction training programme upon commencing employment and on-going training was provided. Supervision was completed to provide staff with an opportunity to discuss their roles, any areas for improvement and future goals.
• A varied activity programme was in place, with people also supported to access the community and make links with community based organisations to allow them to pursue their hobbies and interests.
• People and staff’s views on the service were sought through completion of regular meetings.
• The service had a had a range of systems and procedures in place to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service. Action plans had been completed to promote continuous improvement.
• The service met the characteristics for a rating of ‘good’ in all key questions.
• More information is in the full report.
Rating at last inspection:
• This was the first ratings inspection since the provider took over provision of extra care services at Elmridge Court in December 2017. The service was previously provided by Wigan Council.
Why we inspected:
• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received. Newly registered services or providers are inspected within 12 months.
Follow up:
• We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service to ensure care remains safe and of good quality. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales for good services, however if any information of concern is received, we may inspect sooner.