Archived: OSJCT Florence Court

OSJCT Florence Court is an extra care housing service, providing personal care to eight people at the time of the inspection. People lived in their own flats within the complex. 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 told us they felt safe living at OSJCT Florence Court and supported by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff. Staff understood how to support people from the risk of abuse. Risk assessments had been carried out to assess the risks to people's safety, and care plans informed staff how to keep people safe. People's medicines were managed safely. Processes were in place to prevent and control infection at the service.

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.

People living at OSJCT Florence Court had care plans which detailed their needs and preferences. Staff knew people's care needs well and how best to communicate with them. People were supported to engage in activities, although these had to some extent been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The key values and vision of the service were known by staff and on display in the home. Positive feedback was received about the management team and their supportive approach. The leadership of the service had worked hard to create a learning culture. Staff felt empowered to participate in their learning and suggest improvements. Checks to monitor the quality and safety of the service were completed. There was a transparent, open and honest culture between people, those important to them, staff and leaders. They all felt confident to raise concerns and complaints.

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 22 April 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for OSJCT Florence Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

OSJCT Florence Court is an extra care housing service, providing personal care to 23 people at the time of the inspection. People lived in their own flats within the complex. 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

We received consistently positive feedback from people about the care and support provided by the staff team. People maintained their independence and their physical and emotional needs were understood and well supported. People felt confident to share their feedback and told us they knew their voice would be listened to by the staff and management team. 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.

There was a strong sense of community within the service. People told us they had instantly felt at home when moving to Florence Court. People were supported to make friendships and to participate in social activities. A nursery group regularly visited. The service had won second place in the local ‘in bloom’ gardening competition. A memory café was also held at the service, with everyone welcome to attend. People were invited to join trips to different places of interest throughout the year. There were social events held at the service, such as a quiz night.

There were personalised and dignified care plans in place and it was clear people were involved in the care planning process. People’s care needs and wishes were regularly reviewed with them, to ensure the service continued to meet their needs. People’s future care wishes were known and recorded in their plans. There had been events held at the home for people to learn about options for funeral planning and will writing.

The staff team had received the right training to help them care for people’s needs. This included training in dementia care, safeguarding and equality and diversity.

People had personalised their flats, which were spacious and well maintained. Some people had their own garden areas. There was a large communal garden, which people could freely access.

People told us they felt safe. There were systems in place to help keep people safe and comfortable in their own flat. Medicines were stored in people’s flats safely and were risk assessed according to people’s individual needs. People told us they received support to ensure they took the right medicines when they needed to.

The registered manager had a good rapport with people. People spoke positively about the way the service was managed. The staff team enjoyed their jobs and worked well together. People told us how they got on well with the staff who supported them.

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 17 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for OSJCT Florence Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

OSJCT Florence Court is an extra care housing service which provides personal care to older people and people with a physical disability who have their own flat in the complex. The inspection was carried out by one inspector. At this inspection we found the service remained Good, and has been fully compliant with the regulations looked at during each inspection since March 2013.

A registered manager was employed by the service and they were present on the second day of the 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.

OSJCT Florence Court had a clear management structure and a registered manager, who was described as having a “hands on and open approach and was always available to offer support and guidance.” The senior team worked closely with staff ensuring the day to day practices were closely monitored.

There was a stable management team who took appropriate action to make sure they provided a safe and reliable service. People, relatives and staff told us they were encouraged to raise any issues of concern, and they were confident they would be taken seriously and action would be taken.

The registered manager worked closely with other agencies and promoted an open and transparent culture with a strong emphasis on continually striving to improve the service. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided and the provider had a clear plan on further development of the service.

People told us they were safe. Staff knew how to report any safeguarding concerns and were aware of the provider's whistle blowing policy.

People received care and support from staff they knew well and had built trusting relationships with them. Comments from people were extremely complimentary about the staff who visited them.

People were treated with respect and dignity and were encouraged to make choices.

Staff were available in sufficient numbers and were experienced and knowledgeable; ensuring that they were able to meet the needs of people using the service. We found the management of medicines to be safe and appropriate to people's needs.

The quality of the service was being monitored and systems were in place to meet people's health, welfare and safety needs.

In this report a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a registered manager on our register at the time.

During our visit we saw care staff interacting with people in a positive and encouraging way.

People's needs were assessed before they started to receive a service. Care plans we viewed gave clear guidance to staff on how the person liked their support to be provided. Staff we spoke with told us that the care plans were clear and that they were up to date.

People we spoke with told us that they liked the care staff and felt safe. One person we spoke with told us 'I feel very safe living here'.

We spoke with three members of care staff who were clear on the different types of abuse that they could come across. They explained to us the actions that they would take if they suspected abuse.

Staff we spoke with told us that they felt well supported in their roles. They said that the management were very approachable and supportive.

We found that the service had systems in place to review and monitor the services they provided and implement improvements when identified.