Glebelands is an extra care housing service run by the London Borough of Merton. The service provides personal care to people living in 33 self-contained flats located in a single building operated by an independent housing provider. At the time of our inspection 32 people were living at Glebelands of whom 28 received personal care. People using the service were aged 50 and over and had a range of needs that included, dementia care, mental ill health, learning and/or physical disabilities and end of life care.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in July 2014, the overall rating for this service was ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’. The service demonstrated they continued to meet regulations and fundamental standards.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People continued to be safe being supported by staff who worked at Glebelands. There were robust procedures in place to safeguard people from harm and abuse. Staff were familiar with how to recognise and report abuse. The provider assessed and managed risks to people’s safety in a way that considered their individual needs. There were enough staff to keep people safe and recruitment procedures were designed to prevent people from being cared for by unsuitable staff. Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

Staff received relevant training and were supported by managers to help them to meet people's needs effectively. Staff knew people well and had a good awareness and understanding of their needs, preferences and wishes. People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their dietary needs. They also received the support they needed to stay healthy and to access community healthcare services.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people’s privacy was maintained. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People continued to receive personalised support that was responsive to their individual needs. Each person had an up to date, personalised care plan, which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff. This meant people were supported by staff who knew them well and understood their needs, preferences and interests. Managers reviewed people’s needs regularly to ensure current support arrangements continued to meet these.

The registered manager continued to provide good leadership and the management team led by example. People were satisfied with the support they received from staff. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy about any aspect of the support they received. The provider maintained arrangements to deal with people’s complaints appropriately. Regular checks and reviews of the service continued to be made by managers to ensure people Glebelands experienced good quality safe care and support at all times.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which looks at the overall quality of the service.

This was an announced inspection. We told the provider 48 hours before our inspection that we would be coming.

Glebelands is an extra care housing service that offers accommodation for up to 33 older people who require varying amounts of care and support. The accommodation is purpose built and consists of 33 self-contained flats and some shared facilities such as a communal dining area, a games room and garden. There were 29 people using the service when we visited.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

People told us they were happy living at Glebelands. They also told us staff were kind and caring, and our observations and discussions with care managers and commissioners from the local authority supported this. We saw staff treated people with dignity and respect. 

There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs. Staff received regular training and were familiar with people’s individual needs and preferences. They had the skills, knowledge and support required to meet people’s needs.

Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported. People were involved in developing their care plans, and we saw people were supported to make decisions about the care and support they received. We saw staff supported people to be independent.

Staff supported people to attend health care appointments with their GP and other healthcare professionals to ensure peoples and health care needs were met.

There was a clear management structure at Glebelands and people who lived there and staff felt the manager was approachable and competent. The manager demonstrated a good understanding of their role and responsibilities. People using the service, staff and community professionals felt the manager was open to suggestions on how to improve the service.  

There were systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the safety and quality of the service provided. We saw that appropriate action was taken in response to incidents and steps were taken to reduce the risk of incidents reoccurring. 

We spoke with five people using the service. People spoke positively about their experiences of the care and support they had received. One person said ‘Carers are good. I’ve got no worries’. Another person told us ‘I’m very happy with the general care’. One person said about staff ‘they have the right skills to look after me’. Another person said ‘staff always ask if you want anything else done. They don’t make you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about anything’. People told us staff spoke with them about their care and support needs. One person said ‘it was discussed with me what care I would get and then it was up to me to decide, to say yes or no’. Another person said ‘I can agree how care is delivered and I can say no if I don’t want things’.

We looked at the plans in place to care for and support people using the service. We saw people’s specific needs were clearly identified, with guidance for staff about how these would be met. We also saw people’s care and support needs were regularly reviewed by appropriate healthcare professionals. People using the service were asked for their views and experiences and these were acted on. People we spoke with felt safe where they lived.

Staff received training to keep their skills and knowledge up to date. Staff carried out regular checks to ensure that people’s care and support needs were being met and people were happy with the care and support they received.

We spoke with people who use the service to find out what people thought about the quality of care and support they received. One person told us they got a lot of choice about what they wanted in respect of their care and support. Some people told us staff were friendly and treated them well. One person said ‘Carers are nice. They treat you with dignity and respect’. Another person told us staff were ‘happy’ which in turn made them feel happy. They also told us they felt ‘lucky’ to live here. The majority of people we spoke with told us they liked the food. One person said the food was ‘very good’. Another person told us if they didn’t like what was on the menu they could speak to the cook who would make them something different to eat.

We spoke to seventeen people who use the service during our unannounced visit.

Their comments included ‘I like it’, ‘I’m satisfied – perfectly happy’, ‘all very nice’, ‘there’s nowhere better’ and ‘it’s a lot better than where I came from’. One person said ‘When I came here, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven – it’s so nice and quiet’ and another individual commented ‘a lovely find this place’.

The majority of people we spoke to felt that staff listened to them and they were given support in the way they wanted it. Feedback included ‘they’re very amenable – they have taken on board my views’, ‘they ask us what we like’ and ‘they keep you informed – we are getting on fine’. One individual raised issues about their care and said ‘sometimes they don’t listen to you’.

Feedback about the staff included ‘all very nice’, ‘I’m satisfied with the staff’, ‘most are first class’, ‘I like the girls here – they are very kind’ and ‘I like the people here – they are very nice to me’. One person told us that ‘if they don’t see you around, they come knocking’ and another said ‘I have confidence in them’.

Some people told us that they would like to see more going on within the service with individuals commenting that there used to be more events and activities.