Ribbon Court

Updated 17 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection site visits took place on 21 and 22 February 2018. The inspection was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because the service provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure people, staff and the registered manager would be available to speak with us about the service.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector on the first day of our inspection site visit and an inspector and inspection manager on the second.

This was the first time Ribbon Court had been inspected under its current registration with the care Quality Commission in March 2017. The home had previously been registered under a different provider.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at statutory notifications the provider had sent to us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Our records showed the service had a higher than expected rate of safeguarding incident reporting. We were able to review this during our visit.

We spoke with local authority commissioners. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services for people and fund the care provided. They told us they had no feedback they needed to share with us about the home.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. During our visit we found the PIR was an accurate assessment of how the service operated.

During the inspection we visited and spoke with five people who were receiving a personal care service. We also spoke with the registered manager, two senior care workers and three care workers.

We looked at four people's care records and other records related to people’s care, including medicine and daily logs. This was to see how people were cared for and supported and to assess whether people’s care delivery matched their records.

We reviewed three staff files to check staff were recruited safely and were trained to deliver the care and support people required. We also looked at records of the checks the provider and registered manager made to assure themselves people received a good quality service, including safeguarding and accident and incident records.

Updated 17 March 2018

This inspection took place on 21 and 22 February 2018. The inspection was announced.

This was the first time Ribbon Court had been inspected under its current registration. The service had previously been registered under a different provider.

Ribbon Court 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 brought 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 provides 44 permanent occupancy one or two bedroom flats and five short term reablement flats. At the time of our visit there were 43 people living at Ribbon Court, 23 people received assistance with personal care. The personal care and support people require is provided at prearranged times by a team of care workers based at the scheme. People have access to call bells for care workers to respond whenever additional help is required. Other people who lived at Ribbon Court could receive care and support should they need it in an emergency.

The service had a registered manager. 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 told us they felt safe using the service and care workers understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s safety were identified and care workers understood how these should be managed. The provider conducted pre-employment checks prior to staff starting work, to ensure their suitability to support people in their homes.

People mostly received their care calls from care workers they knew and with whom they had built relationships. The registered manager was taking action to improve the consistency of care workers who visited people. People received their care visits at the times agreed to support their needs.

Care workers completed an induction when they joined the service and had their practice regularly checked by a member of the management team to make sure they worked in line with the provider’s policies and procedures. There were enough care workers to meet people’s needs effectively.

The registered manager understood their responsibility to comply with the relevant requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People made decisions about their care and support. Care workers gained people’s consent before they provided personal care and respected people’s decisions and choices.

Care records reflected people’s current needs and gave care workers the detailed information needed to ensure care and support was provided in a way which respected people’s preferences. Care workers completed training the provider considered essential to meet people’s needs safely and effectively.

People who required support to eat and drink were provided with the support they required. People were also supported to access healthcare support and saw health professionals when needed. Systems were in place to manage people’s medicines safely and staff had received the necessary training to do this.

People were supported with dignity and respect and, where possible, their independence was encouraged. People received their care and support from care workers who were caring and compassionate and had the right skills and experience to provide the care and support required.

The registered manager and provider completed regular checks to monitor the quality and safety of service provided. People and staff were encouraged to share their views about the service to drive forward improvements.

People were involved in planning and reviewing their care and support. Regular care workers understood people's needs and abilities because they read care plans and shadowed experienced staff when they started working for the service.

People and care workers felt the registered manager was approachable and supportive. Care workers felt valued by the management team who provided guidance and advice. People knew how to raise any concerns and felt these would be listened to and responded to effectively. Complaints received had been responded to and managed in line with the provider’s procedure.

People were satisfied with the service provided and the way the service was managed.