Archived: ExtraCare Charitable Trust Brunel Court

The service provides care and domiciliary support for older people and people with a learning disability who live in their own apartment within the Extracare complex. There are 35 apartments and the provider carried out personal care support visits to 21 people. Some people who live in the service did not receive any support and were independent.

There was a registered manager in the service. 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.

People felt safe when being supported and staff knew how to protect people if they suspected they were at risk of abuse or harm. People understood how to act if they felt vulnerable and were confident they would be supported to raise their concerns. The staff had received training to identify potential abuse and knew who to report their concerns to so that people could be protected.

People’s preferences were considered and incorporated in their support plan. There were regular reviews of people’s care to ensure it accurately reflected their needs. People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide safe care and support and had a good understanding of the specific risks to each person and what they should do to minimise these. There were sufficient staff available to meet the needs of people who used the service in a way that they wanted. The provider carried out appropriate checks on staff to ensure they were suitable and fit to work in the service.

People were supported to eat and drink what they liked. Where concerns were identified, people received support from health care professionals to ensure their wellbeing. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines at the right time, as prescribed.

People were treated with dignity and respect and had their choices acted on. The staff were kind and caring when supporting people. People were confident that staff supported them in the way they wanted and knew people’s likes and dislikes.

People were supported to make decisions and choices about their care and support needs. They were supported in such a way as to retain as much control and independence over their lives as they wanted.

People enjoyed the activities and opportunities to socialise. People were able to stay in touch with people who were important to them as visitors could come to the service at any time.

People knew who to speak with if they had any concerns and they felt these would be taken seriously. Arrangements were in place so that actions were taken following any concerns which were raised.

Quality assurance systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and the focus was on continuous improvement. People and staff were involved in developing the service and there was strong leadership which promoted an open culture and which put people at the heart of the service. There was regular communication with people and staff whose views were gained on how the service was run; their views were used to make continuous improvements.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, the team leader coach, four care staff, four people who used the service and one relative.

ExtraCare Charitable Trust Brunel Court provided care to people who lived within the sheltered care scheme Brunel Court and who wished to purchase this support from the care team based there. Staff were available 24 hours a day.

We saw that there were arrangements in place to gain people's consent to the care and support they required. People told us they received the care they wanted and needed; records we saw also confirmed this. One person told us: 'I would not be able to manage without the staff they are all so good".

Appropriate systems were in place to ensure that people who needed and had requested support to administer their medicines, received their medicines safely and as prescribed.

Staff received training and support to provide people with the support they needed. They had completed induction training when they started work and had undertaken additional training to develop and improve their knowledge and skills.

The service had systems in place to review and monitor the care people received.

During our visit we spoke with five people who lived at, or were visiting Brunel Court, four staff members and the manager.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy about the care they received. People said, "I was lucky to get a flat here, the care is excellent", another person said " I like it here, the carers are always respectful and do a good job". A relative told us, "The staff are excellent, I cannot fault them. They always let us know if X is unwell and they are calling the doctor". We found that people received the care they wanted and needed.

The service had appropriate systems in place to ensure that staff understood their responsibilities in safeguarding (protecting vulnerable adults) and would report any concerns appropriately when needed. People told us that they felt safe with staff and were confident that if they had any concerns they would be acted upon.

The service had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that there were sufficient and appropriate skilled and trained staff available to provide support to people at Brunel Court.

Systems were in place for auditing and monitoring the quality of the service provided to ensure that people received appropriate and safe care.