We visited the offices of Housing & Care 21 - Oakwood Gardens and Mayfield Close Central on 20 July 2016. The inspection was announced. This was to ensure the registered manager and staff were available when we visited, to talk with us about the service.

Housing & Care 21 - Oakwood Gardens and Mayfield Close provides an extra care housing service within a complex of flats which are managed by the provider. The service provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. People have access to communal facilities including a lounge, gardens, an activity room, a laundry, a hairdresser, a beauticians and a restaurant which offers hot and cold meals daily. At the time of our visit there were 74 people living within the service and 38 of these people received care and support. The service was registered with the CQC in 2015 and had not been inspected before under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations.

The service has a registered manager. 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 told us they felt safe using the service and staff understood how to protect people from abuse. There were processes to minimise risks associated with people’s care to keep them safe. This included the completion of risk assessments and checks on staff to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. Some people told us their care calls were late. There had been significant staffing changes and more care staff were in the process of being recruited to improve call times.

Staff received an induction and a programme of training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and staff respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.

People told us staff were kind and caring and had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Care plans contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the care people required. Staff treated people in a way that respected their dignity and promoted their independence.

People were involved in planning how they were cared for and supported. Care was planned to meet people’s individual needs and preferences and care plans were regularly reviewed.

People knew how to complain and were able to share their views and opinions about the service they received. However some people said they found senior staff inaccessible within the service.

Staff were encouraged to share ideas to make improvements to the service and they felt able to raise any concerns to their manager. However, staff did not always feel supported by their line managers due to significant staffing changes within the service.

There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with staff, returned surveys and a programme of other checks and audits.