Background to this inspection
Updated
18 January 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
Service and service type:
Handyside 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 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are 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 because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection
The inspection took place on 10 December 2019.
What we did before the inspection:
We reviewed the information we received about the service since the last inspection. This included checking incidents the provider notified us about such as serious injuries and abuse. We sought feedback from the local authority, we also spoke with other professionals who work with the service. We requested information from Healthwatch this is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We assessed information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection we spoke with four people who used the service and one relative. We spoke with six members of staff including a domestic assistant, care workers the deputy manager and the registered manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care plans and medication records. We also looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the home and a broad range of policies and procedures.
Updated
18 January 2020
About the service: Handyside Court is a service which provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate the premises used for supported living: this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. There were 23 people using the service at the time of our inspection.
People’s experience of using this service:
People that we spoke to said that Handyside Court was a good place to live and that staff treated them with respect and kindness.
People’s health and social care needs were managed well by management and the staff team. There were positive relationships with professionals which supported people’s overall wellbeing.
Medicine was administered safely and there were clear protocols in place for medicine which was taken when required. Records were kept up to date and medication administration records (MAR) were all correct and checked by staff and the registered manager.
The registered manager showed evidence of ongoing quality monitoring across all aspects of the service. Any concerns raised by residents’ relatives or staff were investigated and addressed. This was also used to inform improved practices throughout the service.
People had enough to eat and drink. People were offered choices and had the opportunity to pay for a meal in the restaurant or prepare their own food in their apartment. There was a choice of socialising with other people using the service or remaining in their own space.
There were a variety of activities, both to keep people occupied and to entertain them. There were also physical activities to assist with people’s mobility. People were consulted on what they wanted to do, giving people choice and control.
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 inspection rating was requires improvement (published 7 September 2018) we found at this inspection that the service had improved to good. At the last inspection we found that the provider had failed to ensure that risks were effectively monitored and managed and there was insufficient staffing. This was a breach of Regulation 12 (Safe Care and treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Enough improvement had been made at this inspection and the provider was no longer in breach of Regulation 12.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
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.