29 September 2015
During a routine inspection
This was an unannounced inspection carried out on 29 September 2015. Our last inspection took place on 4 April 2013 and found that the provider was compliant in all but one standard which was infection control. We carried out a focused inspection on 5 September 2013 specifically to look at infection control and found that the provider met this standard.
Sabourn Court provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 49 older people. The home is comprised of two buildings, namely Oakwood House and Park House. It is located close to local amenities and is accessible by public transport.
At the time of this inspection the home 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 who we spoke with felt safe using this service. Staff had received training in safeguarding and were able to demonstrate their knowledge in this area.
People’s care plans contained sufficient and relevant information to provide consistent, person centred care and support. We found people had access to healthcare services and these were accessed in a timely way to make sure people’s health care needs were met. The medication system was well managed and people received their medicines at the right times.
Recruitment processes were not always robust as thorough checks were not always completed before staff started work to make sure they were safe and suitable to work.
The provider did not have a way of assessing overall staffing levels for the service. Both people using the service and staff members told us there were insufficient numbers of staff whilst building works were taking place.
Staff were able to demonstrate an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, although some mental capacity assessments had not been fully completed.
On the day of our visit we saw people looked well cared for. We saw staff speaking calmly and respectfully to people who used the service. Staff demonstrated they knew people’s individual preferences and what they needed to do to meet people’s care needs. Staff demonstrated they respected people’s privacy and dignity.
We saw people received adequate nutrition and hydration. They had access to a wide variety of meal choices, although people had different experiences regarding the quality of food.
Complaints were not responded to in accordance with the provider’s policy and the results from the last survey for people living in the home had not been analysed by the provider. We saw there was support from the provider who carried out regular audits.