Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing Housing Support Service 1 Cressy Street Linthouse G51 4RB Telephone: 0141 445 4418

Inspected by: Lesley Greig Type of inspection: Announced (Short Notice) Inspection completed on: 20 November 2013 Inspection report continued

Contents

Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 5 2 How we inspected this service 6 3 The inspection 10 4 Other information 19 5 Summary of grades 20 6 Inspection and grading history 20

Service provided by: Linthouse Housing Association Ltd.

Service provider number: SP2004006767

Care service number: CS2004080355

Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Lesley Greig Telephone 0141 843 6840 Email [email protected]

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 2 of 22 Inspection report continued

Summary

This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection.

Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following other regulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to make the service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someone makes about the service.

We gave the service these grades Quality of Care and Support 5 Very Good Quality of Environment N/A Quality of Staffing 5 Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership 5 Very Good

What the service does well The service provided people with a range of opportunities to get involved and have their say in the ongoing assessment and improvement of all aspects of service delivery; they actively promoted inclusion and participation.

There were very good opportunities for residents to build social networks of support through planned activities and outings, and well established links with local resources. The providers worked hard to ensure people were aware of the different agencies and sources of support available to them. This helped to make sure people using the service had the support they needed to experience a good quality of life.

What the service could do better We were confident that the service would continue to develop in line with it's aims and objectives.

What the service has done since the last inspection Since the last inspection the manager and staff had continued to work to build close links with community groups and resources. The are pro-active in sourcing funding to support development projects which result in residents having increased opportunities to get out and about and to meet new people.

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 3 of 22 Inspection report continued Conclusion Overall, we found that the service continued to provide high quality support, in line with their aims and objectives. The management and staff team had a clear enthusiasm for continuing to develop the service and make improvements, where possible. They should continue to build on strengths and take forward areas for improvement.

Who did this inspection Lesley Greig

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 4 of 22 Inspection report continued

1 About the service we inspected

The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in . Prior to 1 April 2011, this function was carried out by the Care Commission. Information in relation to all care services is available on our website at www.scswis.com.

The service was first egisterr ed by the Care Commission on November 2004.

Linthouse Housing Association provides sheltered and very sheltered housing support and care at home services for older people in the area of Glasgow, allowing them to live independent lives within their own homes.

Each tenant has their own tenancy agreement. The service supports individuals to use other agencies, such as home helps who carry out personal care for tenants, as well as General Practitioners and other health care professionals when required.

Tenants are supported by a Warden and domestic staff, and in the very sheltered service a cook provided meals on a daily basis. The members of staff are managed by the Senior Housing Officer from Linthouse Housing Association.

Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades:

Quality of Care and Support - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - N/A Quality of Staffing - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership - Grade 5 - Very Good

This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection.

Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. You can find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our website www.careinspectorate.com or by calling us on 0845 600 9527 or visiting one of our offices.

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 5 of 22 Inspection report continued

2 How we inspected this service

The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a low intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections when we are satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care.

What we did during the inspection We wrote this report following a short notice announced inspection. This was carried out by inspector Lesley Greig. The inspection took place on Wednesday 20 November 2013 when we visited the office base, met with management and examined paperwork. We also visited the very sheltered housing complex on this date. We gave feedback to management at the end of our visit on 20 November 2013.

As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed annual return and self- assessment forms that we asked the provider to complete and submit to us.

We sent care standards questionnaires to the manager to distribute to people who used the service.

We also asked the manager to give out questionnaires to staff and four were returned to us.

During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following:

We spoke with:

• people who used the service • a warden • a chef • the manager • the interim director • the policy and continuous improvement officer

We looked at:

• the participation policy (this is the service's plan for how they will involve service users in developing and improving the service)

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 6 of 22 Inspection report continued • the aims and objectives of the service • brochures and leaflets produced by the Housing Association, aimed at promoting involvement • a number of service newsletters • the service user guide • a sample of residents support plans • incident reports • staff training information • records of meetings between the manager and wardens • service users survey questionnaire and associated action plan

Grading the service against quality themes and statements We inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. For example, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care and support'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describe what a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the service performs against the quality themes and statements.

Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection

Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs) In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during our inspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones we make during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality of these aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined an inspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant quality statement.

Fire safety issues We do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible for checking services. However, where significant fire safety issues become apparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services' responsibilities for fire safety at www.firelawscotland.org

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 7 of 22 Inspection report continued

The annual return Every year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make sure the information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decide how we will inspect the service. Annual Return Received: Yes - Electronic

Comments on Self Assessment Every year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment is accurate.

The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self-assessment document from the provider. We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this and with the relevant information included for each heading that we grade services under.

The provider identified what it thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes it had planned. The provider told us how the people who used the care service had taken part in the self-assessment process.

Taking the views of people using the care service into account For this inspection, 18 people gave us their views via the care standards questionnaires and we spoke with a further four people using the service.

People spoke highly about the staff that supported them and all respondents of the questionnaire said that staff treated them with respect. All 18 respondents confirmed that they knew who to speak to if they had any problems, and were confident that staff have the skills to support them properly.

Overall, everyone we heard from agreed that they were happy with the quality of care and support the service provided.

We have included further comments and views from people using the service throughout the report.

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 8 of 22 Inspection report continued Taking carers' views into account N/A

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 9 of 22 Inspection report continued

3 The inspection We looked at how the service performs against the following quality themes and statements. Here are the details of what we found.

Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and Support Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the care and support provided by the service. Service strengths The service was excellent at involving residents and helping them to have their say. At this inspection, we saw that the housing association had developed a range of ways for residents to get involved and take part in decision making.

For people living in the sheltered and very sheltered housing complexes, there were a number of systems in place to keep people informed and to help them get involved and share their views. These included:

• an annual satisfaction survey • tenants panels • regular reviews of support • offers of regular meetings with wardens and the manager of the service • attending social events and outings • a regular newsletter available in a range of formats • informative introductory information packs and brochures; and • notice boards

We looked at service brochure and introductory pack and saw that it provided a very clear overview of the aims and objectives of the service, and a description of the housing support service provided by Linthouse. We found these documents easy to read and understand, and thought they accurately reflected the service being delivered. The provision of accurate and meaningful information helped to ensure that people were able to make an informed decision about the suitability of the service to meet their needs.

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 10 of 22 Inspection report continued

We saw that residents were involved in agreeing and reviewing the support that was provided to them. This done formally as part of the regular programme of reviews, and informally during day to day contact with staff. We saw records of six monthly reviews in residents support plans which showed that, where appropriate, relatives were invited and consulted. We spoke with residents during the inspection who told us, 'The staff can't do enough for me, they're very good' and, ' I know they (the staff) are there if I need them, they check that I'm alright and ask if there's anything I need every day without fail.'

The service had a newsletter which was issued to residents on a quarterly basis. We saw that the newsletter was used to keep people informed about any changes or service developments. Feedback gathered through surveys was shared using the newsletter as well any action plans which were put in place as a result of people having their say and getting involved. The newsletter was bright, eye catching and informative, with articles which encouraged people to get involved in a range of events, activities and forums. For example, the service had developed close working links with partner organisations with a shared value base; a focus on supportive social networks and community development. The newsletter promoted volunteering opportunities, trips, IT classes and discounted lunch groups which people living in the service could take part and get involved in.

We issued questionnaires which asked people if they knew about the service complaint procedures. All eighteen of the people who responded agreed that they did know. People we spoke with during the inspection told us they would have no hesitation raising any issues or concerns they might have. They told us they were confident that the warden would take them seriously and sort things out.

Overall, the involvement of residents was an integral part of the day-to-day operation of the service. We commended the service for developing this approach. Areas for improvement The service should continue to seek out and promote opportunities for residents to get involved in the ongoing assessment and improvement of the quality of care and support.

Grade awarded for this statement: 6 - Excellent Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 11 of 22 Inspection report continued

Statement 3 We ensure that service users' health and wellbeing needs are met. Service strengths At this inspection, we found that the performance of the service was very good for this statement. The service met the health and welfare needs of residents very effectively. We looked at support plans, spoke with residents, the warden and management and observed the lunchtime meal to assess this statement.

We saw records which demonstrated that the service supported people in a range of areas. These included, assistance with budgeting, personal alarms, benefit claims and other correspondence, and arranging aids and adaptions to be fitted, as required. The service encouraged and arranged social activities for residents, recognising the potential for social isolation and the benefits of supportive social networks, activity and outings. We heard from management about the way the service works with people from a range of backgrounds to help them to settle into their new home. We were given examples where people had moved in with no personal belongings and had been helped to source soft furnishings, kitchen ware and items of furniture to help make their home livable and comfortable. We spoke with one person who told us how staff had helped them to put their first home in many years together. Another person told us how the service had helped them to maintain as much of their independence as possible. They told us, 'I didn't want to move into a home. There's staff here if I need them and I get carers in to help me shower. This is good for me, I decide what I do and when I do it'.

In the very sheltered housing complex the meals were provided on site. The service had a full time chef who planed menus in consultation with the people using the service. The chef has up-to-date food hygiene certificates. All of od is prepared fresh on a daily basis. Although there is a menu in place, service users can have anything they like to eat. We spoke with the chef and found he had a detailed knowledge of individual residents likes, dislikes and preferences. He explained how he catered for individual residents needs and preferences and was alert to any changes in dietary intake or attendance for meals. Residents we spoke with gave us very good feedback on the quality of meals. One person commented, 'I get exactly what I would have made for myself, I can't do that anymore but David (chef) makes sure I get what I like. I'm fussy about my food and he knows what I'll eat.'

We saw that the service reviewed people's needs regularly. Where appropriate, relatives were involved in reviews. This was an oppportunity for the service to gather feedback on levels of satisfaction and agree any changes which might be required. Areas for improvement The service should consider developing their support planning where residents have identified care needs. While we recognise the limits of the warden and

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 12 of 22 Inspection report continued domestic service, it might be helpful for staff to have clear practice guidance in circumstances which may be challenging.

Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 13 of 22 Inspection report continued

Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment - NOT ASSESSED

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 14 of 22 Inspection report continued

Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of staffing in the service. Service strengths Please refer to theme 1 statement 1 for strengths which were also relevant to this statement.

As detailed in previous inspection reports, the service's satisfaction survey asked specific questions relating to staff and responses from people using the service continue to be very positive. Residents spoke highly of the staff, praising their efforts and approach. Comments included, 'They can't do enough'....'look after us well'...'a cheery bunch' and 'excellent.'

Residents benefit from a long standing stable staff team. The outcome of this is residents are very familiar and comfortable with staff.

The manager meets with residents on a regular basis. This provides opportunities for residents to comment on the quality of staffing. Areas for improvement The service should continue to seek out opportunities to involve residents in the ongoing assessment and improvement of the quality of staffing. They could, for example, consider how they could develop how feedback links to staff training, supervision and/or appraisal systems.

Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 15 of 22 Inspection report continued

Statement 3 We have a professional, trained and motivated workforce which operates to National Care Standards, legislation and best practice. Service strengths There was evidence to show that the provider is supporting staff to undertake and complete the qualifications required for registration with the SSSC. The wardens all held the SVQ level 2 qualification.

We spoke with staff and observed practice and interactions with residents during the inspection. We saw staff worked with patience and kindness and appeared to know residents really well. Staff could tell us about individual residents and their support needs.

Staff spoken with at the time of this inspection said they thought that they were well supported and received training relevant to their job. We heard from staff that they were aware of the national care standards and how they should be used to make sure residents receive the right care and support.

There was a system in place to deliver regular staff appraisal which focused on employment objectives, performance and development. We saw that staff meetings had taken place where there were opportunities to discuss practice and service developments. Areas for improvement The provider should continue to seek out opportunities for staff training, based on the needs of the residents.

The service should develop and implement other methods in respect of this statement.

Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 16 of 22 Inspection report continued

Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the management and leadership of the service. Service strengths Please refer to theme 1 statement 1 for areas of strength which were also relevant to this statement.

People who used the service had the opportunity to join the providers' management committee. This was well promoted in the providers newsletters and leaflets which were on display and easily accessible.

Regular satisfaction surveys encouraged residents to comment on the management of the service. Additionally, there was a complaints procedure and a suggestions box available for residents to make comment on the service. Tenants have the opportunity to attend the providers' Annual General Meeting where they can voice their opinions about the quality of management of the service.

These methods of involving people, as well as the accessibility of wardens and the manager meant that residents had a range of very good opportunities to get involved and have their say. Areas for improvement Please refer to theme 1 statement 1 for areas for improvement which were also relevant to this statement. The manager should consider how they more clearly demonstrate the positive outcomes experienced by people as a result of involvement opportunities in the sheltered housing complexes.

Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 17 of 22 Inspection report continued

Statement 4 We use quality assurance systems and processes which involve service users, carers, staff and stakeholders to assess the quality of service we provide Service strengths An examination of relevant documents and feedback from residents, staff and managers indicated a very good performance by the service in relation to this statement.

We found that the service had continued to use surveys effectively to gather feedback and aid improvement. Residents had access to a wide range of relevant and useful information about the service; provided by staff and on notice boards in the service. The manager and staff were committed to the ongoing improvement of the service.

From discussion with residents and staff, the manager and site wardens were clearly thought to be accessible and supportive, maintaining a high profile within each specific service. Residents and staff told us that they could approach the warden or service manager if they had any problems at all. Areas for improvement The service was achieving very good standards in relation to this statement and should continue to work with residents, staff and stakeholder to ensure effective quality assurance of the service. The manager and staff team should continue to develop and improve the service

Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 18 of 22 Inspection report continued

4 Other information

Complaints No complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection.

Enforcements We have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the last inspection.

Additional Information

Action Plan Failure to submit an appropriate action plan within the required timescale, including any agreed extension, where requirements and recommendations have been made, will result in the Care Inspectorate re-grading a Quality Statement within the Quality of Management and Leadership Theme (or for childminders, Quality of Staffing Theme) as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme being re-graded as unsatisfactory (1).

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 19 of 22 Inspection report continued

5 Summary of grades

Quality of Care and Support - 5 - Very Good

Statement 1 6 - Excellent

Statement 3 5 - Very Good

Quality of Environment - Not Assessed

Quality of Staffing - 5 - eryV Good

Statement 1 5 - Very Good

Statement 3 5 - Very Good

Quality of Management and Leadership - 5 - Very Good

Statement 1 5 - Very Good

Statement 4 5 - Very Good

6 Inspection and grading history

Date Type Gradings

23 Aug 2012 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 5 - Very Good Management and Leadership 5 - Very Good

22 Jun 2010 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment Not Assessed Staffing 5 - Very Good Management and Leadership Not Assessed

10 Jul 2009 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment Not Assessed Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 4 - Good

24 Jul 2008 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment Not Assessed

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 20 of 22 Inspection report continued

Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 4 - Good

All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission.

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 21 of 22 Inspection report continued

To find out more about our inspections and inspection reports Read our leaflet 'How we inspect'. You can download it from our website or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning us on 0845 600 9527.

This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can get more copies of this report and others by downloading it from our website: www.careinspectorate.com or by telephoning 0845 600 9527.

Translations and alternative formats This inspection report is available in other languages and formats on request.

Telephone: 0845 600 9527 Email: [email protected] Web: www.careinspectorate.com

Linthouse Housing Association Ltd - Sheltered Housing, page 22 of 22