Archived: Protheroe House

Protheroe House provides rented accommodation in 40 flats in one building. There was a dining area with bar, garden, hair salon, café, facility to store and charge mobility scooters and cinema room. The service also had ten flats which were used for reablement purposes. People who were recovering from illness or injury could stay for six weeks and have support with personal care, plus other services based in the building such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Where a person was not able to return to living independently, they could choose to move in permanently. At the time of our inspection, there were 32 people receiving personal care.

We found the following examples of good practice.

The premises were clean and well maintained. Information for visitors, hand sanitiser and personal protective equipment (PPE) were available at the entrance of the service. Visitors had their temperature taken and recorded, and people were supported to follow the government's guidance on wearing PPE and social distancing.

The provider had appropriate arrangements to test people and staff for COVID-19. This ensured that people, visitors and staff were tested for COVID-19 in a consistent way in line with national guidance.

The provider ensured that staff received appropriate training and support to help prevent the spread of infection. All staff had received regular training on infection control and the use of PPE.

The provider ensured that people using the service could maintain links with family members and friends. Family members and friends could stay in touch with people with phone and video messaging. Family and friends could visit people at the service.

Protheroe House is registered to provide personal care to people living in specialist 'extra care' housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single households in a shared site or building. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection only looked at people's personal care service.

Protheroe House provides rented accommodation in 40 flats in one building. There was a dining area with bar, garden, hair salon, café, facility to store and charge mobility scooters and cinema room. The service also had ten flats which were used for reablement purposes. People who were recovering from illness or injury could stay for six weeks and have support with personal care, plus other services based in the building such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Where a person was not able to return to living independently, they could choose to move in permanently. At the time of our inspection, there were 25 people receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe with the staff. People were supported by enough and suitable staff who knew how to keep them safe from the risk of harm and abuse. People were supported safely with medicines. People were protected from the risk of infection. People’s accidents and incidents were recorded.

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’s healthcare associated risks were identified and assessed. Risk assessments included mitigating factors to ensure safe care. People’s needs were assessed before they received a service. People’s needs were met by staff who were well trained and received regular support and supervision. People’s dietary needs were met effectively.

People told us staff were caring and treated them with respect and dignity. People were involved in making decisions regarding their care. People were supported to remain as independent as possible.

Care records were up to date, and person centred. People’s cultural and religious needs were respected when planning and delivering care. Discussions with the registered manager and staff showed they respected people’s sexual orientation so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people could feel accepted and welcomed in the service. The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

People and staff told us the management of the service were supportive. Staff told us they felt well supported by the registered manager. The service had quality assurance processes in place. The service worked well with other organisations to improve people’s experiences.

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. (Report published on 14 September 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.

This inspection took place on 12 July 2017 and was announced. This was the first inspection of Protheroe House since it was registered by the Care Quality Commission.

Protheroe House is an "extra care" housing provision operated by One Housing Group Limited in Tottenham, North London. The service consists of flats where people have their own tenancy plus communal facilities including a dining area with bar, garden, hair salon, café, facility to store and charge mobility scooters and cinema room. The Care Quality Commission regulates the personal care service provided by One Housing Group Ltd. The service is for people over the age of 55 but younger adults would be considered.

On the day of our inspection there were 28 people living at Protheroe House and receiving a personal care service.

The service had a manager who was in the process of being registered by the Commission. 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. The previous registered manager had left but the new manager had applied for registration and there was a general manager who was based full time at the service too.

The service had ten flats which were used for reablement purposes. People who were recovering from illness or injury could stay for six weeks and have support with personal care, plus other services based in the building such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Where a person was not able to return to living independently they could choose to move in permanently and two people had recently done so.

People were able to receive a flexible service ranging from a visit once a day to four times a day. One person had a live in carer 24 hours a day and daily calls from Protheroe House staff to support them with specific tasks. Some people received support for all aspects of daily living.

People told us they were happy with the quality of service they received.

Staff were based on site and were able to offer a flexible service if people wanted to get up later than usual but people were not always able to choose the time they received their care and support. We made a recommendation that care planning includes preferred times for care.

People were generally happy with the way they were supported with their medicines but we made a recommendation to ensure medicines practice meets national guidelines at all times as the medicines records needed to be improved and three people said they received their medicines late at times.

Staff received appropriate training with the exception of training in the Mental Capacity Act, as well as supervision and support to carry out their roles effectively.

People received good support with their dietary needs and maintaining their health. There was a range of activities available for people to take part in and an activity coordinator was able to support people with individual activities.

People benefited from the facilities provided including a bar, cinema, room, hair salon and cafe which were also open to the public and accessible gardens.

The provider monitored the quality of the service and staff said they felt supported by the management team.