All inspections: Housing & Care 21 - Emily Court

This was a follow-up inspection because at our last inspection on 27th June 2013 we found the service provider was not fully meeting all of the regulations set out in the Health and Social Care act 2008 and that there was non-compliance with outcome 4 Care and Welfare of people who used the service, Outcome 13 Staffing, Outcome 16 Assessing and Monitoring the Quality of the Service and outcome 21 Records. At this inspection we also looked at outcome 9. This was because we had received information of concern about the management of medication at this service. We asked the registered person to send us an action plan telling us what actions they would take to become fully compliant with this outcome. At the date of our follow-up inspection on 26th February 2014 there was no record of an action plan being sent to us by the registered person.

At this inspection we found that People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan.

Prior to our inspection on 26 February 2014 we received information of concern about medication errors. The information provided to us was in relation to medication errors and that these had not been reported to us by the provider. The registered person had notified us that there had been a medication error prior to our inspection. We found that the provider had dealt with this error effectively and that the registered person had taken steps to ensure medication administration was safe.

At this inspection we found that the registered person had taken steps to ensure that there were enough staff to meet people's needs.

At this inspection we found that people who used the service, their representatives and staff were asked for their views about the service and, for people who used the service, about their care and treatment.

We found that people were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained.

We saw care plans had been completed and included information about people's support needs, likes and dislikes. However we found the service did not always monitor people's individual needs or review care where a change had been identified.

People we spoke with said "I can't fault the staff" and "everyone one of them is so nice".

We found concerns around the training and competency for some staff.

We saw some records were not accurately maintained. We found that the service had improved their quality assurance processes but improvement is still required with regards to monitoring and reviewing the care provided.

People we spoke with told us that staff are "Friendly", "Helpful" and "Always polite". They told us that staff always ask before they help with any care.

People told us they had been able to visit the service before they moved there and were involved in deciding what care was to be provided. People said that they were encouraged to be independent. One person said "I like the independence that is offered" and "You can come and go as you please".

People said they felt "Safe" and had no concerns about the care provided. They told us that when they needed assistance then they would use their call bell and staff came quickly. People also said they were aware of what medication they had and what it was for. One person said "I can tell you about the side effects of my medication as well".

We spoke with staff who said they received regular training, supervision and felt "Supported". However, we found concerns around the training and competency for some staff that provide specialist care to people.

We found that the service has improved their quality assurance processes but improvement is still required with regards to monitoring and reviewing the care provided.

When we visited we spoke to people who received a service from the domiciliary care agency. We received a mixed response about the care and support provided.

People told us that when they first moved in everything had been very good, but then the manager had left and things had changed. They said that the service 'went downhill'. People said that they felt that they had not been listened to and that any concerns they had were not acted upon. However everyone we spoke to said that they felt things were now improving and that the new management team were working hard to make things better. People also said that they felt although they knew the service was working towards making improvements they were still cautious about what would happen. One person said 'I have heard it all before and only time will tell'. Another person said 'ask me again in six months and then I will be able to tell you'.

People told us that when things had changed they had not been able to talk to the manager, but now the current management team who were helping out were much better and did listen to people. One person said that they were helping to improve the activities which were available and that they hoped that the management team would continue to support them with this.

People said that the support from staff was getting more positive, they said that staff on duty were now better and listened to what they had to say. They said that staff were polite and caring.

People told us that they liked living in the complex and having the use of the communal facilities, but also having their own private flats. People said we can use the facilities as we want.

Archived: Housing & Care 21 - Emily Court

All Inspections

26 February 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

27 June 2013

During a routine inspection

14 January 2013

During a routine inspection

19 May 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns