About the service: This service provides care 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 service.

The service provided personal care to 13 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People who used the service told us they felt safe. Staff knew what to do if they thought somebody was at risk. Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate identified risks.

¿ Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs safely. Staff received appropriate training and they told us the training was good and relevant to their role. Staff were supported by the registered manager and received formal supervision where they could discuss their ongoing development needs and any issues they were experiencing.

¿ People using the service benefited from a caring and responsive service. People told us how staff were kind and caring and treated them with kindness and respect. Staff demonstrated a caring, friendly and respectful approach to people.

¿ People were supported to have choice and control of the care and support they received. We saw examples of how people were supported to retain their independence.

¿ Staff supported people to access healthcare professionals and services; medicines were being managed safely.

¿ Assessments of people’s needs were completed and care plans developed when people started to use the service. Care plans were brief but contained the detail staff needed to support people in the way they preferred. Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate identified risks.

¿ People were supported to engage in social and recreational activities through staff working closely with staff from the housing association.

¿There was a complaints procedure in place and we saw complaints received were managed well. Compliments were recorded and celebrated at staff meetings.

¿ There was a registered manager and systems were followed to make sure management was effective. The quality and safety of the service was audited. The registered manager and all staff demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement of the service.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of this service since their change of registered location in March 2018.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk