Background to this inspection
Updated
22 February 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
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
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 and support service.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This meant the provider was legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was so we could arrange to speak with people and staff when we visited. Inspection activity started on 15 January 2020 and ended on 17 January 2020. We visited the office location on 15 and 17 January 2020.
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 who work with the service. We used this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people, three relatives, six care staff (including care co-ordinators, care supervisors and care workers), the wellbeing advisor and regional operations manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff recruitment files and a variety of records related to the management of the service. This included quality monitoring records.
Updated
22 February 2020
About the service
The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, Earlsdon Park Village provides personal care for people aged 55 and over, living in purpose-built accommodation where there are 262 individual apartments with shared facilities. These include an onsite shop, bistro and bar, hairdressing salon, gym, craft room, and activity rooms. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is where people receive help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People said they felt safe living at Earlsdon Park Village and received the care and support they needed from staff who were kind and respectful. New staff completed an induction and all staff received regular ongoing training to update their knowledge and skills. Staff were aware of how to identify potential abuse and how to protect people from abuse.
Risks related to people’s care, including environmental risks had been assessed and staff acted on these to minimise any risk of harm to people.
People were supported with their medicines during specific care calls where needed and people said they received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff had been recruited following safe procedures and arrangements were in place to ensure there were sufficient numbers of staff to support the care calls required to meet people’s needs. Staff told us they felt supported in their role by the management team.
People were positive about the care and support they received and were involved in decisions about how their care and support was provided. There were arrangements in place for people to make contact with staff in an emergency situation and people said staff responded as soon as they could. Staff understood they needed to seek consent from people before providing care and staff knew the importance of supporting people to maintain their independence. People were assisted to access the numerous facilities at Earlsdon Park Village during care calls which helped to support their wellbeing and reduce isolation.
Staff followed the provider’s infection control policy and procedure to prevent the spread of infection.
People shared positive relationships with staff, who knew their individual needs. People said all staff were approachable and they felt at ease to raise any concerns with them if needed.
Wellbeing clinics were held at the service where people could visit the nurse for wellbeing checks and any concerns regarding their health. People were supported to access GP services or other health professionals if needed.
People’s privacy and dignity was maintained, and people told us staff were respectful to them and their property when completing care calls. Those people who needed support to prepare meals or drinks were provided with this during calls.
The management team completed regular quality monitoring checks to ensure any areas of improvement were noted and people received the care and support they expected. Areas identified for improvement were acted upon and some of these were detailed on a “You said, we did’ notice board at the entrance of the building.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies in the service supported this practice.
We found some records lacked information. This included information about best interest decisions made. However, records needing improvement were addressed during the inspection visit.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 19 July 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.