Archived: London Care (Tayo Situ House)

Tayo Situ House is an extra care service which provides care and support to people who live in their own flats. The service is for older people with support needs. At the time of the inspection there were 30 people living at the service. The service has a total of 42 flats which are a mixture of one- bedroom and two-bedroom flats. There is a communal lounge and garden facility.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

Care workers were not always administering medicines safely as they were not following the manufacturer’s guidance. We made a recommendation to the provider about this. Care workers were not always recruited safely.

People’s end of life wishes were not being recorded. The provider was not always ensuring information about people’s care and support was available in suitable formats to meet their support needs. We made a recommendation to the provider about this. Care workers understood how to protect the people they supported and understood how to raise safeguarding concerns. The provider had good infection control practices in place.

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. Care workers received training to ensure they had the appropriate skills to meet people's care needs in a safe and effective manner.

People were happy with the care they received. People told us they felt their dignity and privacy was respected with care workers acting in a kind and caring way when providing support. People felt they were supported to be as independent as possible and received their care from a small team of care workers. The provider was responding to complaints in line with their policy.

The provider had good systems in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. This included systems to support care workers with regular supervision. People’s views about the service were sought individually and through satisfaction surveys. Everyone we spoke with told us the registered manager was approachable and they were happy living at the home.

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 requires improvement published (28 March 2019).

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.

Tayo Situ House is an extra care service which provides care and support to people who live in their own flats. The service is mainly for older people and people with mental health needs. At the time of the inspection there were 34 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People told us they were treated with dignity and respect by staff but felt they were often bored and lacked activities and social engagement.

• People received care that met their basic needs but goals and outcomes for care did not always consider how to avoid social isolation. People’s preferences for food were respected but there were not always clear plans to support people to maintain good health.

• The building was in places bare and sterile, although management of the building was the responsibility of the local authority. One person told us “it’s like a box.” There had been limited attempts to personalise communal areas of the building and the design of the building did not enable people to orientate themselves. There were items like board games and a piano in a communal area. People reported their cultural needs were met by the service.

• There were appropriate measures to safeguard people from abuse but sometimes risk management plans were not sufficient to protect people from harm or deterioration to their health. Medicines were safely managed and staff received training and support to assist people with their medicine needs.

• Staff were recruited in line with safer recruitment processes and there were enough care workers to meet people’s needs. People were able to call for help and assistance from their flats.

• People had consented to their care, but there was not always sufficient consideration of what kind of decisions people could make for themselves. We have made a recommendation about this.

• The garden was not well cared for and there were no opportunities for people to be involved in the running of the service. The building was kept clean throughout and people were supported to make sure their flats were clean and hygienic.

• There was a new management team who recognised the need to change the service. This included better engagement with people using the service and increased quality assurance measures. This had resulted in improvements, but many of the planned initiatives required more time to implement.

• Staff received sufficient training and supervision to carry out their roles and reported feeling well supported by their colleagues and managers.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first inspection since the provider registered this location in May 2018.

Why we inspected:

This was a routine first ratings inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor this service and will return within 12 months to check that improvements have been made.