Southbank

Updated 25 October 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Southbank is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Southbank is a care home without nursing care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who used the service about their experience of the care and support provided. We spoke with 8 staff, which included the registered manager, the deputy manager, support workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received feedback from 2 visiting professionals. We reviewed aspects of 2 people's care and medicine records and documents in relation to the governance of the service.

Updated 25 October 2023

About the service

Southbank is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 13 younger adults and older people with a learning disability and/or autism. Southbank provides people with long-term and short-term care across three bungalows. Each bungalow has its own kitchen, dining and living area, communal bathroom and access to the communal garden. People have their own bedrooms. At the time of the inspection there were 8 people permanently living at the home, and 2 people who was staying at Southbank for a short stay.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

Some were supported to make their own day to day decisions and choices. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care

People's care plans and risk assessments did not always reflect their current needs to consistently promote their wellbeing. However, staff who supported people understood people's needs as they knew them well. Parts of the home required refurbishment, and furnishings needed to be replaced, to promote people's dignity and enjoyment of life. Staff understood people's individual ways of communicating.

Right Culture

There had been changes to the leadership at the home and this had impacted the quality assurance process. The provider was taking steps to improve the governance of the home, but these improvements were not yet fully embedded. The nominated individual visited the home regularly each week, they and the management team spent time listening to people and staff’s views. Visiting professionals felt there were improvements to the communication and people experienced better outcomes.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement, (11/12 October 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found some improvements had been made. The provider was no longer in breach of regulation 12, Safe Care and Treatment, however, we found the provider remained in breach of regulation 17, Good Governance.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 11/12 October 2023. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Southbank on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to the governance of the service.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.