Background to this inspection
Updated
29 September 2021
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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is an extra care scheme. It provides personal care to people living in their own flats to enable them to live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.
The manager, who was registered with the Care Quality Commission, had left the service and has since de-registered. The service was managed by one of the provider’s regional managers. This meant the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. Following our inspection visit, a new manager was appointed and in the process of applying for registration with CQC.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to ensure senior staff would be available on site to support the inspection.
We carried out a site visit on 11 August 2021 when we visited the registered location and met with staff and people using the service.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people using the service and three relatives to gain their views about the care and support provided. We spoke with the regional manager, the provider’s training co-ordinator, a team leader and three care workers.
We reviewed a range of records including people’s care records and a sample of medicines records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to staffing and the management of the service including audits, policies and procedures, and infection control documentation.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
29 September 2021
About the service
Help at Home (Waterside Court) is a domiciliary care/extra care housing service providing personal care to older and younger adults with needs relating to dementia, mental health, physical disability, and sensory impairment.
People using the service live in a large modern building with 62 flats. 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.
At the time of our inspection visit there were 40 people receiving personal care at the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Prior to our inspection we received information of concern about the service from people and staff. In response the provider put a new management team in place and significant improvements were made.
People said the quality of the care was much better, and well-trained, caring staff were in post. A person said, “I love it here now. It’s a different place. The manager and the staff are fantastic and so kind.” A relative said, “The staff have worked so hard to bring this place up to scratch.”
Staff had confidence in the way the service was being managed and said any concerns they had were addressed. A care worker said, “I think this is the nicest place you could send someone, I feel I trust all the staff, and would let a relative come here.”
Although some improvements were needed to written risk assessments, staff understood people’s needs and how to keep them safe. A care worker said, “There are a lot of caring staff here and I’ve never seen poor care, but if I did, I’d tell the manager and they’d deal with it.”
Staff sought people’s views on the service, listened to what they said, and made changes and improvements. For example, new activities, events and meetings were introduced to give people the opportunity to socialise if they wanted to.
The cultures of the service, staffing levels, call times, and medicines management had improved, and audits introduced to ensure staff provided people with good-quality care and support. People and staff said the manager was approachable and were confident they would address any concerns raised.
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 under the previous provider was Requires Improvement (published 07/02/2020).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received around poor leadership and governance, staffing and medicines. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Help at Home (Waterside Court) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.