Archived: Comfort call (Westmoreland House)

Comfort Call (Westmoreland House) is an Extra Care Housing scheme that provides personal care for people living in their own flats on one site. There were 14 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were provided with safe care that reduced the risk to their safety. There were enough suitable staff in place to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe. People’s medicines were safely managed. Staff had received training on how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. The provider ensured staff and the registered manager learned from mistakes and agencies were notified of incidents that could affect people’s health and safety.

People’s assessed care needs were provided in accordance with current best practice guidance and legislation. People were supported by well-trained and experienced staff. People’s nutritional needs were managed, and they were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Some people received care from other agencies as well as this service. The two worked together to provide timely and consistent care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were kind, caring and treated people well. Staff were respectful and provided personal care in a dignified way. People’s privacy was respected. People were involved with decisions about their care.

People’s care records were person-centred and contained guidance for staff to support them in their preferred way. People were provided with opportunities to avoid social insolation by meeting others. Information was provided for people in an accessible format. People felt able to make a complaint and were confident their complaint would be acted on. End of life care was not currently provided, but staff would support people with this if required.

Quality assurance processes were consistently implemented to help the provider and the registered manager to identify and act on areas which could pose a risk to people’s safety. The registered manager had a good knowledge of their regulatory requirement to report concerns to the CQC. People’s views were requested and acted on to aid the development and continued improvement of 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 5 July 2017).

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.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 were supported by staff who understood the risks they could face and knew how to keep them safe. People were supported by a regular individual or group of staff who they knew and the staffing levels were under review. People who required support to take their medicines received assistance to do so when this was needed.

People were provided with the care and support they needed by staff who were trained and supported to do so effectively. People’s care and support was provided once consent had been obtained in line with the relevant legislation.

People were cared for by staff who understood their health conditions and ensured they had sufficient to eat and drink.

People were treated with respect by staff who demonstrated compassion and understanding. People were provided with their care and support in the way they requested. People were informed on how to express any issues or concerns they had so these could be investigated and acted upon.

People used a service which was flexible in accordance with their needs. The managers provided leadership that gained the respect of staff and motivated them as a team. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed.