Southdown Housing Association - 28 Southdown Road

Updated 22 June 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Southdown Housing Association – 28 Southdown Road is a is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The people who lived in the home had complex support needs related to their profound physical and learning disabilities.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced so the provider, manager and staff team did not know we would be visiting.

What we did: Before the inspection we reviewed information, we held about the service and the service provider. The registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law.

We observed care and support practices. The people living in the home did not use words as their main means of communication.

During the inspection we spoke with a regular visitor to the home and the support worker for a team of experts by experience who had quality checked the service, to ask about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with the registered manager and four members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records that included two care plans, daily monitoring charts and medicines records. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management and monitoring of the service. These included audits, policies and maintenance checks.

Following the inspection we received agreed feedback for a further week. We received information from three GPs who worked with patients living in the home and three relatives.

Updated 22 June 2019

About the service:

Southdown Housing Association – 28 Southdown Road is a residential care home that provides personal care for up to seven adults with complex support needs. There were seven people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

The accommodation was in a large, purpose-built house with communal areas and an accessible garden. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Peoples experience of the service:

There was a warm friendly atmosphere. The registered manager and staff team were person-centred in their approach and had an exceptional understanding of people’s individual needs. People’s relatives and health professionals described how staff had gone above and beyond what was expected to care for people.

People's healthcare needs were monitored to ensure their day to day requirements were met. Staff were exceptionally responsive to changes in their well-being and worked with medical professionals to ensure outcomes in people’s best interests.

Staff knew people really well as individuals. People were supported to achieve individual goals and lived their lives engaged in activities that were meaningful to them and that they enjoyed both within their home and the local community. People were supported to maintain important social and family relationships.

People received safe care. Staff were aware of their responsibility to keep people safe. Risks were assessed and managed to reflect people's current needs. Staff received appropriate training and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People and their relatives were positive about the staff and management team. Staff were proud to work at the service.

People received care that was effective for their needs. People were supported to eat and drink, by staff who were knowledgeable and suitably trained. People were supported to eat and drink safely.

The environment was clean and well maintained and was adapted to meet people’s physical and social needs.

There was a strong person-centred culture throughout the service and staff provided caring and compassionate support. Relatives and healthcare professionals were extremely positive about the caring and responsive nature of staff.

People were treated with dignity and respect and their choices and preferences were respected. Care was tailored to meet individual needs. All the people living in the home were supported to lead meaningful lives.

The service was well led, with a clear focus on person centred care, which empowered people and their relatives to make decisions about their care. The quality assurance systems in place effectively monitored the service. The registered manager responded positively to change and was proactive in improving the service. Staff told us they were well supported.

Safe recruitment was followed to ensure the staff employed were suitable to care for people and shared the culture of the service. People received their medicines as prescribed and this was administered by staff who were competent. The provider was following relevant guidance for infection control.

Systems were in place to monitor accidents and incidents to identify any lessons learned and make improvements where required.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems were in place to support this practice.

There was a registered manager in post who was available throughout the 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.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was last inspected on 11 October 2016 and was rated Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating from the last inspection. The service remained rated Good overall.

Follow up:

We will monitor information received about the service and schedule the next inspection accordingly.