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Applegrove (Domicillary Care)

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

St Kilda Road, Lewsey Farm, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU4 0UP

Provided and run by:
Luton Borough Council

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 3 October 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

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 service.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered 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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we met and spoke with 2 people who used the service. We also spoke with 2 carers, 1 team leader, and the registered manager. We looked at 2 people’s care plans and associated risk assessments, staff recruitment files, audits and staff training records.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 3 October 2023

About the service

Applegrove (Domiciliary Care) 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 and this inspection looked at people's personal care and support service. At the time of the inspection, 5 people were being supported by the service .

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

People felt safe, and were supported by staff who understood safeguarding procedures. There were sufficient staffing numbers in place to support people.

Risks were assessed and staff understood what risks were present in people’s lives. Medicines were administered safely by staff who were trained to do so. Staff were recruited using safe recruitment measures.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and responded to in a timely manner.

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.

The staff team were well supported and understood their roles. Staff were supervised and monitored by the management team.

Audits and checks were in place to identify any issues, and prompt action was taken as required. Staff and people told us that communication was good within the service.

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 good published on 20 December 2017.

Follow up

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