Sandpiper Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 67 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People’s needs were assessed before care started and this helped staff understand how to support them. Assessments were detailed and person-centred and included information about people’s health conditions, personal history and preferences. Assessments were reviewed when people’s needs changed, however some records showed inconsistent information because not all sections had been updated at the same time, which created a risk of staff not always having a clear and complete picture. Language used in some records and by some staff when describing people was not always respectful and included terms that could be seen as negative or labelling. This use of language did not reflect a consistently dignified culture and showed that people were not always fully valued or respected as equals, which had the potential to undermine the otherwise caring approach observed in practice. Records included evidence that relatives’ views had been sought but there was limited evidence to clearly demonstrate regular involvement in reviews, and some relatives told us they did not feel consistently involved.

Care and treatment were delivered in line with current evidence-based guidance and supported people to receive safe and effective care. Staff understood how to deliver care safely and applied relevant guidance and standards in their day-to-day practice. Treatment plans reflected people’s assessed needs and risks which helped ensure care was appropriate and person centred. One professional told us about a positive outcome for one person due to the quality of care delivered. They said, “A person with advanced dementia was supported by the care home to settle quickly, with behaviours linked to distress resolving through compassionate, skilled care and close work with [relatives], leading to a clear improvement in quality of life.” This approach supported people to receive care and treatment that was consistent with best practice and legislative requirements.

Staff worked effectively together within the service to support people to receive coordinated care. There was good communication between staff teams which helped ensure people’s needs were understood and support was delivered consistently. Information about people’s care was shared within the team so staff knew how to support people safely and appropriately. External services were involved when needed and staff worked with partners to support people’s care and respond to changing needs, which helped maintain continuity and coordination of support. This had a positive impact on people and relatives as it enabled them to focus on each other. A relative said, “I trust the staff here 100%, they have given me back my life and I am a [relative] again and not a carer."

People were supported to live healthier lives and to maintain their wellbeing. Staff encouraged people to make healthier choices and provided advice on wellbeing where appropriate. People were supported to access medical professional such as doctors and opticians when needed and had regular check-ups. People’s specific dietary requirements were clearly documented and well known by staff which helped ensure day to day health needs were met safely. People gave very positive feedback about the food and snacks on offer. One person told us, “The food here is wonderful and the chef is so nice.” A relative said, “[My family member] is [particular] about their food and chef makes a point of checking they have eaten and if not will get something different.” Staff promoted independence and self-care and supported people to do as much as possible for themselves. Support was tailored to individual needs which helped people maintain choice, control and wellbeing.

The service monitored care and treatment to support positive outcomes for people and to identify areas for improvement. Reviews of processes of data were carried out and learning from these was used to improve systems and maintain safe and effective care. However, monitoring systems did not consistently demonstrate meaningful analysis of people’s experiences or quality of life outcomes. Daily records focused mainly on task completion and did not consistently capture people’s views, experiences or how person-centred care was delivered. This was particularly the case in records of when people were distressed, which limited the provider’s ability to fully understand and improve outcomes that mattered most to people.

Consent to care and treatment was managed well and people’s rights were understood and respected. Staff understood the importance of consent and consistently sought consent before providing care or support. Where people’s mental capacity was in question, this was assessed appropriately and in line with legislation. Decisions were made following the Mental Capacity Act and relevant guidance. Mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were clearly and thoroughly recorded and showed how people were involved in decision making as much as possible.