About the service: Bridge Court is located in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. It is a domiciliary care and extra care housing service that provides personal care to people who

are tenants. At the time we inspected, Bridge Court was providing personal care to 26 people who lived at the scheme. The service caters for older and younger adults who may have a range of needs, for example a learning disability, mental health need or a physical or sensory disability.

People’s experience of using this service: People we spoke with told us they felt safe with the management and staff that support them. A person living at the service told us “That she is never frightened as there were people around all the time and staff are only a buzzer away.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their life and they were supported in the least restrictive way possible.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

Staff spoken with respected and understood a person’s right to privacy and promoted their independence. People told us staff were kind, caring and showed them respect. People's dignity and privacy was respected and they were able to make choices about how their care was delivered. People's independence was promoted.

The registered manager and staff observed and spoken with showed respect and kindness towards people. They were passionate about their role and told us that people who live here come first and we do everything we can to ensure they have the best quality of life. People were involved in making decisions about their care.

We met a number of people who used the service all were relaxed and we saw people were comfortable with staff.

People’s nutritional needs were met and a number of food options were available. People could choose to cook in their flat or they could order a meal and have it delivered to their flat or eat in the communal restaurant. People were encouraged to eat healthy meals and staff provided advice on health and well-being. The management team and staff knew when to refer people to other health professionals for advice and support.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people. People told us they would discuss any concerns or worries with the care staff. A leaflet entitled ‘No Secrets Here’ was available in the entrance hall for all relatives and visitors to take. This provided a confidential number to discuss any concerns and obtain advice.

Rating at last inspection: Good (21 July 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. Ongoing monitoring included information that quality had improved. We checked this in looking at the quality and safety of the service.

Follow up: The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.

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

Our inspection took place on 10 June 2016 and was unannounced. We last inspected the service on 29 January 2014 where we found the provider was meeting regulations.

Bridge Court is a domiciliary care and extra care housing service that provides personal care to people who are tenants. At the time we inspected Bridge Court was providing personal care to 25 people who lived at the scheme. The service caters for older and younger adults who may have a range of needs, for example a learning disability, mental health need or a physical or sensory disability.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People had confidence that the provider would keep them safe. People were supported promptly by staff when needed. Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were identified and staff worked to minimise these. The provider completed suitable pre-employment checks of staff to ensure they were safe to work with people. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People were confident staff were suitably trained and had a good understanding of their needs and individual requirements. People’s rights were protected, with staff ensuring their consent was gained before delivering care. People were supported with access to food and drink when needed and in a way they were satisfied with. People had good access to healthcare professionals when required.

People told us staff were kind, caring and showed them respect. People’s dignity and privacy was respected and they were able to make choices about how their care was delivered. People’s independence was promoted.

People had involvement in planning their care. Where changes to people’s care was required we saw the provider responded appropriately to these. People knew how to complain and had confidence any complaint they raised would be resolved.

People had confidence in the provider and said the service they received met with their expectations. The provider had systems to capture and respond to people’s experiences and monitor the quality of the service. Staff felt well supported by the provider and they enjoyed their work.

Bridge Court was providing personal care to 15 people at the time of our inspection. We spoke with three people that received a service, three care workers, the registered manager and the provider’s representative. We also looked at people’s records as well as other records that supported the running of the agency.

People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the care and support provided by the agency. People told us care workers were very caring and one person told us, “They are very caring; they have taken a lot of stress out of my life”.

People told us that care workers always took precautions to ensure they carried out personal care in a way that reduced the risk of spreading any infection.

People told us care workers were quick to respond to any calls for assistance and always had sufficient time to provide them with the care that they needed. One person said, “If I ring the bell they come straight away”. This meant there were sufficient care workers available to meet people’s needs.

We found systems were in place to gain people’s views. People told us the manager sought their views, and responded to these.

We spoke with three people who used the service, three staff, and the manager.

People told us about the support they received and confirmed this reflected the care plan that had been written with their involvement and consent. People told us that their independence was promoted by care workers who had not compromised their ability to carry out tasks for themselves, but listened to people as to what support they needed at any given time. One person told us it was, “Really good here, could not have wished for a better place” and “Don’t think would find anywhere better”.

Appropriate arrangements were in place in relation to the management of or the support provided to people to allow safe administration of their medication.

Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work and people were supported by suitably qualified and experienced staff.

People felt able to share their views and raise any comments with staff. They told us that they felt able to complain and that their concerns would be dealt with by the staff or manager. One person told us they always ask to talk to the staff if they had a concern.

We visited Bridge Court on 24 February 2012. During our visit we spoke to the manager, two people that use the service and three staff. We also looked at care records for three people that used the service, some staff files and other records related to the operation of the service.

People we spoke with told us they are involved in planning their care. We looked at these people’s care plans and they reflected the care and support they told us they received from the service. One person told us that their “Privacy always respected” and staff “don’t just come in; spend time to have a chat even if it’s just about the weather”.

People that use the service told us that staff “Always there when you need them”, “very good support”, “People are very good to me” and “If want anything come and do for me, they are very good”.

People we spoke with told us that that they felt safe with the staff and living at Bridge Court. They told us that if they were concerned or worried they were confident in raising concerns with the staff, seniors or manager.

People expressed confidence in the staff. One person told us that the “staff are very good”. Another person told us that the staff were “all very good”. People felt that the staff were well trained and knowledgeable about their needs.

We saw comments from the services annual survey of people that use their services. Comments we read included “All staff are excellent from manager down”, “Excellent service, no complaints” and “The care support I receive is excellent from the staff”.

People told us that they have the opportunity to share their views about the service at monthly meetings with other people who lived at Bridge Court and staff. People told us that they feel involved in what is happening at Bridge Court.