This inspection took place on 9 and 10 May 2018 and was announced. Creative Support – Regency Court provides care and support 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 bought or 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 and support service.

People receiving this service live in 60 one or two-bedroom apartments located in a single apartment block within the London Borough of Bromley. Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

The service had a registered manager in post although they were not available 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. The provider also had a separate manager in post who oversaw the day to day running of the service.

At this inspection we found a breach of regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2014 because people’s medicines were not always safely managed or recorded. We also found areas requiring improvement because; identified risks to people were not always safely managed; accidents and incidents were not consistently reported, recorded and reviewed to help reduce the risk of repeat occurrence; staff were not always consistently deployed in a way which ensured people’s needs were met; staff did not always receive regular supervision or refresher training to ensure they were up to date with current best practice and; the provider’s systems for monitoring the quality and safety of the service identified issues but action had not always been taken to drive service improvements.

The provider followed safe recruitment practices when employing new staff. Staff worked in ways which reduced the risk of the spread of infection. People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff were aware of the type of abuse which could occur and the provider’s procedures for reporting abuse allegations. Staff were also aware of the provider’s whistleblowing policy and told us they would be confident to report any concerns to external agencies if needed.

People’s needs were assessed to ensure the service was able to support them effectively before they moved in to their apartments. Staff supported people to maintain a balance diet where this was part of their assessed needs. People had access to a range of healthcare services when needed and staff worked to ensure people received joined up care when moving between services. Staff sought people’s consent when offering them support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff treated people with dignity and respected their privacy. People were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment, and in the planning of their care. Staff supported people to maintain their independence where possible. People were treated with care and consideration. People also knew how to make a complaint and expressed confidence that any issues they raised would be addressed.

People and staff spoke positively about the manager and the impact they had had since starting work at the service. Staff told us they worked well as a team. The manager held regular meetings with staff to discuss the running of the ser