About the service:

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.