Archived: Southlea Residential Care Home

Updated 13 December 2016

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 and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 15 November 2016, was unannounced and carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Before our visit we also reviewed all the information we held about the service including notifications the provider had made to us. We had contact with the local authority safeguarding team and the commissioners of the service to obtain their views about the service. They raised no concerns with us.

During our inspection spoke with four people who used the service, the registered manager, two support workers and briefly to one of the providers. We also looked at a range of records relating to how the service was run; these included two people’s care records as well as medicines and staff records.

Updated 13 December 2016

At the last comprehensive inspection of Southlea on 29 September and 1 October 2015 we found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to staff training and support and also quality monitoring of the service provided at the home. We asked the provider to tell us what action they were going to take to make improvements to the service.

We returned to the service on 25 February 2016 and found that improvements had been made and the regulations were met. This inspection was unannounced and took place on 15 November 2016.

Southlea is registered to provide accommodation for up to five people who have mental health needs and require support with personal care. There were five people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. There were two registered managers for the home who shared the role, one of whom was the provider.

The people we spoke with told us that they got on well together and they felt safe at the home. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who used the service from the risk of abuse. They told us they were certain the registered manager would take any concerns seriously.

There was a stable staff team in place who had worked at the service for many years and knew people well. This helped to ensure consistency and continuity of care for people.

The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of people’s risks, individual needs and personal preferences so that they could support people effectively.

Medicines were seen to be well managed and where appropriate people were supported to take their medicines independently.

We saw that the home was comfortable, clean and tidy. Systems were in place to reduce the risk of cross infection.

People told us they liked the food offered by the home and they could have what they wanted to eat. We found the kitchen was clean and well organised

To help promote their independence some people who used the service were responsible for cleaning their own bedrooms and make their own breakfast and snack meals, with support from staff as necessary.

The relationships we saw between people who used the service and support workers were warm and friendly. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed.

People who used the service had the capacity to make decisions about what they did with their time. We saw that to ensure people’s right to privacy they had keys to their bedrooms and they received mail unopened.

People confirmed that they had been involved in the development of their support plans were regularly asked if they agreed with them.

People participated in individual activities they wanted to be involved in, for example, going out shopping for clothes and lunch, bus rides, going to the gym and meeting up with family and friends where appropriate. People also enjoyed, listening to music, watching television and reading books.

People and staff members we spoke with said that the registered manager was approachable and supportive. Systems were in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service.