Southfields House

Updated 6 September 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people’s relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Southfields House 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. Southfields House is a care home without nursing care. 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 Care Quality Commission 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 the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from commissioners who are involved 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 8 people who used the service and 9 relatives about their experiences of care at the home. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the team leaders, members of the provider management team, members of the housekeeping team, kitchen staff and care staff. We reviewed a range of records; this included 5 care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision.

After the inspection we looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 6 September 2023

About the service

Southfields House is a residential care home registered to provide care for up to 45 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 23 people were living in the home. Accommodation is provided in one purpose built building. All areas have a range of communal facilities such as dining and lounge spaces for people to have meals and socialise.

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

People and their families described the care they received as good and staff treated them with dignity and respect. People and their relatives spoke positively about the caring nature of staff and their compassionate approach. People's diversity and individual needs were respected by staff.

The staff team knew people well and were able to provide appropriate support discreetly and with compassion. People were supported to maintain contact with relatives and friends. There was a wide range of appropriate activities people could involve themselves in. Staff demonstrated they knew how to raise safeguarding concerns and were aware of the processes to follow in order to keep people safe. People told us they felt safe.

Care and support plans were developed to ensure people's needs and risks were met appropriately. Risk management strategies were in place to assist staff to help people to manage identified risks which included identifying triggers for behaviours that may cause distress. Risk management plans helped staff as well as the person to minimise risks but included positive risk taking.

Staffing levels were appropriate to ensure people's needs were met in a safe, timely and consistent way. The service was following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe. The administration of medicines was managed in a safe way and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff were provided with the right training and support to make sure they could fulfil their roles appropriately. There was clear evidence of collaborative working and good communication with other professionals in the health and social care sector. People's health care needs were being met and they had access to healthcare services where needed.

People were supported to have as much choice and control of their lives as they could achieve. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Appropriate policies and procedures were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns. The provider's ethos and values put people at the heart of the service. The staff team were empowered to contribute to support a person-centred model of effective care.

There was a comprehensive and effective governance system in place. People, relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. They recognised that their views and feedback were valued and respected and consistently used to support quality service development. A wide range of comprehensive audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

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 the service under the previous provider was requires improvement (published on 22 April 2021). We also undertook an infection prevention control inspection (published 25 February 2022)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The overall rating for the service is good.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection under the previous provider, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Southfields House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.