Archived: Abbey Court

Updated 20 August 2019

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Abbey Court is an extra care housing service. This 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 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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 26 June 2019 and ended on 01 July 2019.

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 also reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications which providers are required to inform the CQC of, such as accident or incidents that have happened at the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with six people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, home manager, senior care workers, and care workers. We also spoke with two visiting professionals and a volunteer who regularly attends the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and people’s medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, staff and resident meeting minutes and information shared by the registered manager. We also sought feedback from professionals who had regular contact with the service and received positive responses from four professionals.

Updated 20 August 2019

About the service

Abbey Court is an extra care housing service within a purpose-built residential block which consisted of 51 flats and a range of communal areas people could freely access. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection 34 people were in receipt of support with personal care provided by Alexander’s Care and Support Limited.

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

There was a strong person-centred culture. People consistently praised staffs’ efforts and told us they received high-quality care. Professionals told us staff went the ‘extra’ mile to ensure people were supported to achieve positive outcomes.

People were protected from the risk of experiencing abuse. Staff completed regular training and understood their responsibilities. Potential risks to people had been assessed and measures were put in place to ensure their safe management. There were clear safeguarding processes in place to identify, record and respond to all incidents and accidents. People were supported to receive their medicines by trained staff and there were robust procedures in place to support people to receive their medicines as prescribed.

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 encouraged to maintain a sense of autonomy and staff provided appropriate support to enable people to maintain control of their lives and the care provided. Staff told us they felt valued and supported and had access to a range of training opportunities to enable them to continually develop their skills.

People’s care plans were person-centred and focused on their strengths and abilities. People received appropriate levels of care and support that was responsive to their needs. People were provided with a range of opportunities to engage in social activities and staff encouraged people to build meaningful relationships through extended networks.

The service was led by a committed and experienced leadership team. There were robust systems in place to promote the delivery of high-quality care which was supported by a rage of service monitoring and audits to drive improvement. Collaborative working was a high priority in ensuring people had access to the appropriate services and resources to maintain their health and wellbeing.

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

Rating at last inspection

This was the first inspection to award a rating of this service following a change to the registered providers details.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection timescales.

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.