Background to this inspection
Updated
15 May 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Southdown Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service was not required to have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we held about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications the provider is required to send to us about significant events that take place within the service. We spoke with representatives of two commissioning bodies which were familiar with the service.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service, three relatives of people who used the service, four members of staff and two visiting healthcare professionals. We also spoke with the service manager and the provider. We looked at three people’s care plans, five people’s medicines records and four staff files. We reviewed other records such as health and safety checks and staff training records
We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
Updated
15 May 2020
About the service
Southdown Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 24 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 25 people in one adapted building.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service had improved since our last inspection, where we found chemicals were not always stored safely, there were insufficient measures to control the spread of infection and there was not a satisfactory quality assurance system in place. At this inspection we found the provider had taken sufficient action to address these areas.
Although the provider had made improvements since our last inspection, some aspects of the service needed to be improved further. Some risk management plans lacked detail about how to care for people safely. Incidents were not always recorded in the same place which may have impacted on monitoring and learning lessons from incidents. Some improvements were needed to the staff recruitment processes. However, staff knew how to care for people safely and we had no immediate concerns about people’s safety. Staff knew how to keep the home environment safe, including storage of hazardous substances and infection control. Medicines were managed safely and safeguarding concerns were handled appropriately. There were enough staff to care for people safely.
The provider now undertook a wide range of regular checks such as safety checks, care plan audits and food quality checks. They involved people, relatives and staff by gathering their views and making improvements based on their feedback. There was an open culture that promoted person-centred working. The provider worked well in partnership with others.
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. The provider assessed people’s needs thoroughly and worked well with other agencies to plan and deliver effective care. Staff received the support they needed through training and supervision. People’s healthcare and nutritional needs were met.
Some minor improvements were needed to the decoration of some parts of the home. We have made a recommendation about tailoring the decoration of the service to the needs of people living with dementia as part of planning this.
People received care from staff who were kind and empathetic. Staff knew people well and made an effort to engage them in conversation. Staff valued people and treated them with respect. People received support to express their views and make choices about their care and support. Staff promoted people’s privacy, dignity and independence.
People received care and support that was personalised and met their needs. Diverse needs including religious and cultural needs were met. People’s needs and preferences were recorded and met with respect to end of life care. Staff provided people with accessible information in suitable formats, including information about how to complain. The provider responded appropriately to people’s concerns. People had access to a range of suitable activities and had the support they needed to stay in touch with loved ones.
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 this service was requires improvement (published 15 October 2019) and there were two breaches of regulations. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.