Housing 21 - Pantiles House

Updated 9 June 2022

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

Housing 21 – Pantiles House is an ‘extra care’ scheme. 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 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. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care for 28 people.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The manager had submitted an application to become registered. This means that the provider is 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 interim manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with the manager. We spoke with seven people and relatives, and four staff, to get their views about the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. They included staff rotas, training and supervision, people’s medicines records, risk assessments, care plans and reviews and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, quality assurance, policies and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included action plan review information and further audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 9 June 2022

About the service

Housing 21 – Pantiles House provides personal care and support to people living in an extra care housing scheme. This consists of 33 individual flats within a staffed building with some communal areas. At the time of our inspection there were 33 people using the service. The organisation also manages the building. 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.

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

At the last inspection the service was not always caring. People and their relatives said that not all staff were friendly, caring and compassionate when providing care.

At this inspection most people and their relatives said the staff team now provided care and support in a friendly, caring and compassionate way which met their needs.

People told us they liked the way staff provided care and support for them. This was carried out in a manner that made them feel comfortable and relaxed. People and their relatives said staff acknowledged and respected people’s privacy, dignity and confidentiality. People were encouraged and supported to be independent and do the things, they still could, for themselves. This promoted their self-worth and improved their quality of life.

At the last inspection the service was not always well-led. Concerns were raised by people and their relatives regarding the management of the service. The registered manager had left, and an interim manager was in place.

At this inspection a new manager was appointed and had applied for registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Most people and their relatives were far happier with the service now being provided.

At the last inspection the Quality Assurance (QA) and care planning system had not always ensured people received their calls on time and for the full duration even when shortfalls were identified.

At this inspection the quality assurance and care planning system ensured people received their calls on time and for the full duration.

At the last inspection due to people’s misunderstanding of the service provided, the support they received did not always correspond to their expectations.

At this inspection people understood what they could and could not expect from the service.

The service culture was open, honest and there was a clearly defined vision and values that staff we spoke with understood and followed in a caring, kind and sympathetic way. The quality Assurance systems (QA) and audits identified issues, and they were addressed. Areas of responsibility and accountability were identified, with staff willing to take responsibility and report any concerns. There were well-established working partnerships with health care professionals. Records including people’s daily logs and care plans were up to date, as well as staff information. People praised the caring approach of the manager and staff.

People and their relatives told us, and we found, that effective care was provided, people were not discriminated against and their equality and diversity needs were met. Staff were well-trained, appropriately supervised, and appraised. People and relatives said staff provided care well, and it met their needs. People were encouraged by staff to discuss their health needs, any changes to them and they were passed on to appropriate community-based health care professionals. The provider was part of a professional’s network that enabled seamless joined up working between services based on people’s needs, wishes and best interests. It included any required services transitioning as people’s needs changed. People were protected by staff from nutrition and hydration risks, and people were encouraged to choose healthy and balanced diets that also met their likes, dislikes and preferences.

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 5 January 2022) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine the risks associated with these issues.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) has introduced focused inspections to follow up on previous breaches and to check specific concerns.

We undertook a focused inspection approach to review the key questions of Effective, Caring, and Well-led where we had specific concerns about people not always being treated with dignity and respect, the findings of the QA system not being addressed, shortfalls of the care planning systems placing people at risk and the support available not meeting their expectations.

As no concerns were identified in relation to the key questions Safe and Responsive, we decided not to inspect these questions. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Housing 21 – Pantiles House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

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