Archived: Sandmartins

Updated 22 November 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 29 and 30 September 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was conducted by an inspector.

We reviewed information we held about the service, including statutory notifications and previous inspection reports to help us to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection. Statutory notifications are specific incidents which the registered person is required to tell us about, such as injuries to people which require hospital treatment and incidents which involve the police.

We spoke with five people and two relatives who were visiting their family members. We observed care and support being delivered during the course of the inspection. We also spoke with a representative of the provider, the registered manager, the chef, a senior care assistant and two care assistants who were on duty.

We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the home and the delivery of care. They included care plans and medicine administration records (MAR) for three people. We also looked at management records including the provider's quality assurance records, staff rotas for a period of four weeks, minutes of recent meetings and the training and supervision records of all the staff employed at Sandmartins.

The service was previously inspected on 23 July 2014 when no concerns were identified.

Updated 22 November 2016

This inspection took place on 29 and 30 September 2016 and was unannounced.

Sandmartins is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 14 people whose needs are associated with old age. At the time of this inspection there were 11 people accommodated.

A registered manager was in post when we visited. 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 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 was present during our visit.

The registered manager and staff understood their role in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should be put into practice. These safeguards protect the rights of people by ensuring, if there are any restrictions to their freedom and liberty, these have been authorised by the local authority as being required to protect the person from harm. Currently, no one lacked capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Staff confirmed they had been trained in how to identify and report any incidents of abuse they may witness.

Any potential risks to individual people had been identified and appropriately managed.

People’s medicines had been administered and managed safely.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to meet people’s needs.

Staff told us they understood their roles and responsibilities and felt well supported by the registered manager. They had received adequate training, including induction training, to enable them to meet people’s needs.

Staff supported people to eat and drink if required. They ensured people at potential risk received adequate nutrition and hydration.

People were provided with support to access health care services in order to meet their needs.

Positive, caring relationships had been developed with staff to ensure people received the support they needed. They were encouraged to express their views and to be actively involved in making decisions about the support they received to maintain the lifestyle they have chosen.

The culture of the service was open, transparent and supportive. People and their relatives were encouraged to express their views and make suggestions so they may be used by the provider to make improvements.