Highwater House

Updated 26 March 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. On this occasion their expertise was mental health.

Service and service type:

Highwater House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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 took place on 01 March 2019 and was unannounced.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed information, we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents that the provider must notify us about. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least annually, to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements that the plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with four people using the service, four members of care staff, a cook and the deputy manager. We also spoke with the registered manager and a representative of the registered provider who was in this case the chief executive.

We looked at records in relation to people who used the service including care plans, risk assessments and medication records. We looked at records relating to training, activities, meals provided and systems for monitoring quality. We looked at feedback provided by people using the service and staff. Following the inspection, we contacted healthcare professionals for their views on the service provided.

Updated 26 March 2019

About the service: Highwater House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 22 people who have been homeless or are at risk of being homeless. People accommodated have a mental health disorder and a drug and/or alcohol dependency. The service is situated in the centre of Norwich.

People’s experience of using this service:

People at Highwater House received outstanding care and were supported by a staff team that were committed, passionate and knowledgeable. People were treated with exceptional kindness and people were extremely positive about the care they received.

The staff team were highly motivated and there was a strong commitment from the organisation on the development of their competence and knowledge and on ensuring that they felt valued.

People were at the very heart of the service and staff were really proud of what people had achieved. People had strong relationships with their keyworkers. There was a mutually respectful culture and people were involved in how the service was run at every opportunity.

The staff team embraced new initiatives and the feedback that we received evidenced that outcomes people experienced on their physical and mental wellbeing were exceptional.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations to share awareness of the client group and to ensure effective, joined up care.

Staff encouraged and supported people to take part in a wide range of activities which promoted their self-esteem and wellbeing. Staff were creative in ensuring that people were engaged and stimulated. There were good community links and people accessed the community regularly.

Effective management systems were in place to safeguard people and promote their wellbeing.

The management team provided a high-quality, person led service with a strong emphasis on continual improvement and best practice.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 09 May 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor all information received about this service to ensure that the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

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