We carried out a review of the data available to us about Housing 21 - Cambrian Green Court on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Housing 21 - Cambrian Green Court, you can give feedback on this service.
Housing and Care 21- Cambrian Green Court is an extra care housing scheme for older people, comprising of 60 individual flats in one large building. The 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. At the time of our inspection, the service supported 35 people with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received exceptional, person-centred care from the onset. Their wishes were understood and close relationships between people, staff and families had developed. Family members told us the care their relatives received was exceptional and had far exceeded their expectations.
There was a high quality, bespoke and flexible approach towards people’s changing needs and preferences. The service was responsive to people’s needs and was able to accommodate sudden changes in people’s needs. People were empowered to achieve their goals. Activities and social groups had been arranged by the registered manager and staff which was promoted to prevent social isolation.
People received a high level of individualised care and were supported by staff that were kind, caring and compassionate. Staff valued people as individuals and had formed supportive relationships with people. Staff knew how people preferred their care and support to be provided. People were placed at the centre of the service and were consulted on every level. Respect for privacy and dignity was at the heart of culture and values of the service.
The registered manager led by example and used all opportunities to drive continuous improvement at the service. People were very much at the heart of the service. People, staff, relatives were fully involved in developing the service to ensure high quality care. They felt their views were important and opinions acted upon. People and staff spoke highly about the registered manager and felt the service was managed exceptionally well. Staff were motivated and spoke with pride about working at the service.
People had their risks assessed and planned for to help keep them safe. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to keep people safe. People were supported to have their medicines as prescribed and were protected from the risk of cross infection. Lessons were learned when things had gone wrong. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people's care and support needs.
The care provided by the service was effective. Staff were well trained and supported by
wider health and social care professionals. The registered manager was committed to upskill staff to enable them to support people to achieve their best outcomes.
Staff had a good understanding of the mental capacity act and knew how to support people to make informed choices about their care. Should people lack capacity this was quickly identified, and measures put in place to support those people in line with their preferences and goals.
The service had established links in the local community and had worked in partnership with key
organisations including local authorities and other agencies that provided social care services to improve people's opportunities and experiences.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (report published in December 2016).
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Housing & Care 21 – Cambrian Green Court provides an 'extra care' service to people living in their own flats. There were 60 flats in the main building and 10 cottages set behind the flats. Extra care housing supports people to live as independently as possible, with the reassurance of onsite care support when needed. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 37 people with personal care. Not everyone living at Cambrian Green Court required assistance with personal care, some had support with domestic duties such as cleaning and shopping. This did not fall within the scope of registration with the Care Quality Commission.
The building was owned by Housing & Care 21.The accommodation did not fall within the scope of registration with the Care Quality Commission.
A new manager had been appointed and was available during the inspection. The registered manager left in July 2016, and a new manager had been appointed. However they had resigned and left in October 2016. 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.
Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and knew what to do if they were concerned about the welfare of people or an allegation of abuse had been made. Any safeguarding concerns were investigated with the outcomes fed back and practices changed if necessary in order to prevent reoccurrences. People had risk assessments to keep them safe whilst receiving personal care. This included environmental risk assessments. People told us they felt safe whilst being supported by staff. Staff were recruited in a safe and consistent manner.
Medicines were managed safely with people receiving their medicines appropriately. All records were complete and up to date with regular medicine audits being carried out. Where errors had taken place, appropriate action had been taken to protect people, including additional training and observations of staff practice.
There was sufficient staff to meet people’s individual needs. People told us staff turned up on time and stayed for the full duration of the visit.
People had access to a range of health professionals when required. Some people looked after their own health care appointments. People’s nutritional needs were being met. There was a communal dining facility on the premises that operated Monday to Friday which people could use if they wanted.
People had their needs assessed and clear plans of care were in place about how the person wanted to be supported. These were personalised and up to date. People were very much involved in their care. There was an emphasis on encouraging people to be independent as possible enabling them to live independently in their own flats.
Staff were consistently caring and supportive and demonstrated a good understanding of their roles in supporting people. Staff received training and support that was relevant to their roles and the people they supported.
People told us they knew how to make a complaint and would feel comfortable in doing so. They confirmed they had no complaints about the care they received. People’s views were sought periodically through care reviews and surveys. The management team regularly visited people to check if people were happy with the service being provided.
People were provided with a safe, effective, caring and responsive service that was well led. The registered provider was aware of the importance of reviewing the quality of the service and was aware of the improvements that were needed to enhance the service.
People had their comments and complaints listened to and acted on, without the fear that they would be discriminated against for making a complaint. People told us "If I was unhappy I would go to the office and feel I would be listened to' and 'The staff would do their best to ensure my complaint was dealt with'.
People were given support by the provider to make a comment or complaint where they needed assistance. People living in the home told us "I received a copy of the complaints procedure when I first moved here" and "Staff encourage me to talk if I am unhappy".
Records were maintained of 'Resident meetings'. These clearly demonstrated people were supported to make decisions about activities and choices of daily living. We saw evidence that 'residents meetings' were planned and minutes from previous meetings were displayed in the main entrance.
We spoke with staff who confirmed that staffing levels were good at the home. They told us "We have a very good staff team and generally staffing levels are good' and 'We cover the daily runs very well to ensure service users do not have missed calls'.
Staff we spoke with told us that they regularly reviewed people's care plans, audited daily record sheets and involved the people in the process. We saw evidence of this when we looked at care records.
People told us they had access to their care records and these were present in people's homes. People told us that the care manager had sat with them to discuss what was recorded. People using the service had signed their care documentation and, where relevant, a family representative had been involved.
People confirmed that the service listened and acted appropriately to most requests. One person said "when I was grieving the staff took time to listen and to support me, both emotionally and physically, they couldn't do enough for me', another person told us 'there is a mixed range of age and experience amongst the staff team and I believe that this works well in their approach in caring for us'.
Another person told us, 'I was ill over the weekend, really low, the care manager came in on their day off to speak to me and to check that I was alright, this was over and above the call of duty and I am very thankful to them'.
People told us how staff had supported them to maintain their independence, one person told us 'staff support me to keep mobile and encourage me to do as much as I can for myself, this motivates me and keeps me going'.
People told us the staff treated them with respect and were very caring. We observed staff spoke to people in a polite and respectful manner, asked people for their views and acted appropriately in response.
People using the service had information to enable them to make a decision on whether to move to the service. This included a statement of purpose and a service user guide. This information was available in each of the information packs within people's homes.
People were registered with a local GP, dentist and opticians. A relative told us "this is an excellent service and would highly recommend it. The staff are really kind and caring and we are always made to feel welcome".
People seen during the visit looked well cared for, we observed staff interacted with individuals in a positive and caring way.
People told us; 'I have no worries, I have friends here and we all get along', another person told us 'I have made a formal complaint in the past and this resulted in improvements, things are so much better here now, I have no complaints'. Other people we spoke with assured us that they were happy. People gave us the names of staff they would tell if they had any concerns
People told us the service obtained their views through regular meetings and care
reviews. People also told us that they had been recently consulted by the provider and asked for any ideas or suggestions that would improve the service.