Background to this inspection
Updated
18 February 2022
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.
As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.
This inspection took place on 27 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.
Updated
18 February 2022
We undertook a comprehensive inspection on 09 and 10 April 2018. The inspection was unannounced.
Meadow Sands 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 service is registered to provide accommodation for up to 26 older people. There were 23 people living in the service during our inspection.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager had been appointed to post since our last inspection.
When we inspected the service in January 2017 the service was rated requires improvement and was in breach of regulation 12 safe care and treatment and regulation 17 good governance. We undertook a focussed inspection of the service in August 2017 to find out if the provider had made improvements. The registered manager provided us with an action plan that showed that the required improvements had been made.
On this inspection we found that the service had made and sustained the required improvements, and was now rated good.
Systems and processes were in place to keep people safe from the risk of harm and abuse. People had their medicines administered safely by trained and competent staff. The service was clean and staff adhered to safe infection control practices.
People had their care needs assessed and their care was planned in line with up to date guidance and legislation. There were sufficient staff to care for a person's individual needs and staff were trained appropriately. People were provided with a balanced and nutritious diet and staff sought access to a range of healthcare services. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
People were cared for by kind, caring and compassionate staff. People and staff had a good relationship and the service had a homely atmosphere. People were cared for as unique individuals and their privacy and dignity were respected.
Staff supported people to spend their time as they wished. People had an advanced care plan to protect their wishes at the end of their life to achieve a comfortable and pain free death.
People spoke highly of the care they received and the attitude of staff. Staff enjoyed working at the service and were proud of their achievements. The provider had a robust approach to monitoring the quality of the care people receive. The registered manager had built a good relationship with key organisations and the local community. The registered manager was proactive and innovative and had introduced improvements to the service.
People who live in the service and staff have a voice and are supported to give their feedback on the service.