Octavia Housing - Park Lodge House

Updated 3 March 2020

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 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.

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 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.

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 was unannounced.

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 with 11 people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, scheme coordinator, scheme support officer and care workers. We also spoke with an external professional who was visiting on the day of our inspection.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection –

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, some policies and quality assurance records. We emailed two professionals who regularly visit the service but did not receive a reply.

Updated 3 March 2020

About the service

Octavia Housing – Park Lodge House is an extra-care sheltered housing service providing personal care and support to people living in their own flats. It provides a service to adults with a range of needs, such as dementia and those with a learning disability. The service has 36 flats and each person had their own tenancy. There were 30 people receiving personal care at the time of our inspection.

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

Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were appropriately assessed and mitigated. There were systems for monitoring the quality of the service, gathering feedback from others and making continuous improvements.

Staff were responsive to people’s individual needs and knew them well. They ensured that each person felt included and valued as an individual. People were supported to remain as independent as they could and were encouraged to engage in activities organised at the service. They were consulted in all aspects of their care and support and were listened to.

People who used the service and their relatives were happy with the service they received. Their needs were met in a personalised way and they had been involved in planning and reviewing their care. People said the staff were kind, caring and respectful and they had developed good relationships with them.

The provider worked closely with other professionals to make sure people had access to health care services. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. People’s nutritional needs were assessed and met.

People's needs were assessed before they started using the service and care plans were developed from initial assessments. People and those important to them were involved in reviewing care plans. There were systems for monitoring the quality of the service, gathering feedback from others and making continuous improvements.

Staff were happy and felt well supported. They enjoyed their work and spoke positively about the people they cared for. They received the training, support and information they needed to provide effective care. The provider had robust procedures for recruiting and inducting staff to help ensure only suitable staff were employed.

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 4 August 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.