Southlands Retirement Apartments with Care and Support

This service provides care to people living in specialist 'extra care' housing. Extra care housing is purpose built or adapted household accommodation in a shared site or building. The apartments are either purchased or rented and is the occupant's own home. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people who received a personal care service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe and enjoyed living at Southlands Retirement Apartments with Care and Support. One person told us, “I can’t see room for improvement, it is an excellent service.” Relatives also spoke positively about the support and were satisfied with the care and support given to their loved ones.

Medicines were not always managed as required, areas for improvement were identified during our inspection around storage and auditing, the policy that was in place was not relevant for ‘extra care’ housing. Systems were in place to protect people from the risks related to their care needs. There were enough staff working at the service to meet people's needs and there were adequate staff recruitment practices in place. systems were in place to minimise the risk of infection.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives.

Staff enjoyed working for the provider and told us they felt well supported.

Most people, relatives and staff told us the management team were always approachable and responsive to any issues raised. One person had raised concerns and told us that they felt that these were not always resolved as they would have liked.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for the service was good, published on 28 November 2017.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection due to the length of time since the last inspection

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Recommendations

We have made 3 recommendations in relation to medication, auditing and communication with one person that uses the service.

Southlands Nursing Home is a care home for older people; and is registered to accommodate up to 36 people. The accommodation also includes self-contained apartments. It is located in a suburban area of Leeds within walking distance of Roundhay Park and with good transport links and local amenities nearby. There were 17 people living in the service at the time of the inspection.

At the time of the inspection, the service had a registered manager. 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.

People told us they felt safe living at the service and that there were enough staff to meet their needs. Staff were recruited safely, and staff knew how to protect people from abuse using the systems and processes provided by the service.

People were given their medicines safely, with accurate records made. Medicines were ordered, stored and disposed of safely.

Staff were given an induction that equipped them with the knowledge and skills to support people safely. Training needs were monitored by the registered manager and staff were supported with supervisions and appraisals to identify further training opportunities.

People were supported to access medical professionals where required. People were supported to maintain good health through a nutritionally balanced diet. Their weight and nutritional intake was monitored appropriately.

People told us they were cared for by kind and attentive staff, who gave due consideration to their privacy and dignity. People told us they were independent, and staff facilitated them to be as independent as they wanted.

There was a good range of internal and external activities for people living at the home. People told us they participated in interesting and varied activities, and that the activities coordinator, who had been employed since the last inspection, had made improvements to people’s social lives and wellbeing.

There was a robust complaints procedure at the home, and people told us they were confident they knew how to raise a complaint. Complaints we reviewed were given appropriate attention and acted upon by the registered manager.

There was a positive working culture, and staff told us they were confident in the leadership of the service. Staff told us they felt listened to by the registered manager and we saw regular staff meetings were held where staff participated openly.

There were appropriate mechanisms in place to monitor the quality of the service provided, and the registered manager was given good support by the provider.

The service proactively sought feedback from people living at the service through surveys, questionnaires and ‘relatives and residents’ meetings.

Southlands Nursing Home is one of Westward Care Limited home’s for older people. The accommodation also includes self-contained apartments. It is located not far from the centre of Leeds, close to local services, bus routes and walking distance of Roundhay Park. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for a maximum of 36 people.

At the time of the inspection, the service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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.

People told us they felt safe and there were enough staff to keep people safe. We have made a recommendation about the internal door handles. We saw safeguarding training had been arranged for May 2016. People were protected against the risks associated with medicines, however, the registered manager agreed to review the disposal of controlled drugs procedures.

Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place and staff completed an induction when they started work. Staff training provided did not fully equip staff with the knowledge and skills to support people safely.

People had a good experience at mealtimes and were involved in developing a new menu. People received good support that ensured their health care needs were met. People were able to choose how they wanted the care and support to be delivered, however, the care plans we looked at did not contain decision specific mental capacity assessments in line with the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

People were happy living at the home and felt well cared for. People’s care plans contained sufficient and relevant information to provide consistent, person centred care and support. Staff were aware and knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity. However, people’s laundry was not always returned to them or in good condition.

There was no opportunity for people to be involved in a range of day to day activities within the home other than when entertainers came into the home. We have made a recommendation about people’s wishes and the provider should act on the results of the ‘client questionnaire’.

The service had good management and leadership. People got opportunity to comment on the quality of service and influence service delivery. Effective systems were in place that ensured people received safe quality care. Complaints were welcomed and investigated appropriately.

People were able to communicate with us and told us staff looked after them and cared for them well.

One resident told us, "I like it here; they always give me good food and wash my clothes for me.” Another person told us, “The staff are good, always smiling and if I want a drink they get me one.”

People who used the service and staff were made aware of the complaints system. Staff said people were encouraged to discuss any concerns with staff and these would be dealt with within five days.

On the day of inspection there were only ten residents living at Southlands. We spoke with three people who used the service and three members of staff; we also spoke with two relatives of those who used the service. We reviewed three care plans. The people we spoke with were happy living at Southlands. We saw evidence that peoples consent was obtained. We saw evidence of consent for the use of photographs in people’s notes. People we spoke with told us, “I get asked what I would like to eat and if I don’t like it they get me what I want”, “I’m happy here and they look after me.” A visitor said, “I'm involved in discussions about my Mums care and she is happy here.”

During the visit we observed staff supporting people and saw that staff responded promptly to any requests for assistance. Staff told us the staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs.

One member of staff said, "I like working here, it’s a nice home and I get a lot of job satisfaction."