Background to this inspection
Updated
26 October 2017
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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
The inspection visit at Sherbourne Lodge was undertaken on 23 August 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.
Prior to our unannounced inspection on 23 August 2017, we reviewed the information we held about Sherbourne Lodge. This included notifications we had received from the provider. These related to incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who lived at the home.
We walked around the home and spent time observing the interactions between people, visitors and staff. We spoke with a range of people about Sherbourne Lodge. They included three people who lived at the home, the registered manager and one staff member. We did this to gain an overview of what people experienced whilst living at Sherbourne Lodge.
We looked around the building to check environmental safety and cleanliness. Furthermore, we looked at a range of records. These included documents in relation to two people who lived at the home and two staff files. We reviewed records about staff training and support, as well as those related to the management and safety of Sherbourne Lodge.
Updated
26 October 2017
Sherbourne provides care and support for a maximum of six people who live with mental health conditions. The home is situated in a residential area of Blackpool’s North Shore. It offers six single bedrooms over two floors. In addition, there is a dining room, lounge and conservatory. A separate office and staff sleepover room is a recent addition to Sherbourne Lodge.
A registered manager was in place. 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 legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At the last inspection on 22 April 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’. However, we found during this unannounced inspection, on 23 August 2017, concerns and a breach of regulations.
During this inspection, we found issues with how people’s medicines were stored and recorded. There was a miscount of medication given and recorded stock that remained. Medicines, including controlled drugs, were in unlocked cupboards in an office left unattended for long periods. This meant anyone, including members of the public, could access dangerous medicines. This demonstrated the registered manager did not always protect people from the unsafe management of their medicines. They did not have clear oversight of procedures and recordkeeping. This is a breach of Regulation 12 Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 Safe care and treatment.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People were encouraged to complete surveys to check their satisfaction levels with the service. The registered manager, staff and those who lived at the home worked closely together on a daily basis and held regular meetings. This meant any issues could be addressed immediately. The registered manager had a range of systems to retain oversight of the home and maintain everyone’s safety and wellbeing.
Care records we reviewed contained risk assessments to guide staff about protecting people from potential risks of inappropriate or unsafe support. Staff received safeguarding training to underpin their knowledge about protecting people from abuse or poor practice. People told us they felt safe and secure whilst living at Sherbourne. One person said, “I feel settled and safe here.”
The registered manager acquired necessary documents to ensure staff were fit and proper persons before they commenced in post. People told us staffing levels were sufficient to meet their needs. Staff had completed a range of training to assist them with their development, skills and understanding.
Staff had a good understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff worked collaboratively with people in discussing and agreeing their care plans. Those who lived at the home said they felt free and able to come and go as they pleased.
All staff who prepared food had completed food hygiene training to assist them to maintain food safety standards. The registered manager had systems, such as weight checks and risk assessments, to reduce the potential risk of malnutrition.
It was evident to us people were relaxed and felt able to interact with staff with ease and in a familiar, friendly way. One person told us, “The staff are good with me.” Care records we looked at evidenced people were fully involved in agreeing and developing support plans.
Staff completed people’s records with a person-centred approach. They had a good level of information about each person’s self-caring skills and the support they required. The registered manager had further guided staff to assist people to maintain their independence.