Sandhurst Court

Updated 7 February 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

The inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors and Expert by Experience. 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

Sandhurst Court 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. Sandhurst Court 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. Inspection activity started on 14 December 2022 and ended on 21 December 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 14 December 2022, 16 December and 21 December 2022. One visit was unannounced and 1 of these visits occurred outside of normal working hours.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and local safeguarding team who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person who used the service about their experience of the care provided and we spoke with 3 relatives. We spoke with 5 staff members, including the registered manager. We also spoke with 2 health professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and 3 staff files. We viewed records relating to the management of the service, including accident and incident records and safeguarding referral records. We reviewed easy read documents.

Updated 7 February 2023

About the service

Sandhurst Court is a residential care home providing accommodation for people who require personal care for up to 8 people. The service provides accommodation, care and support to people who have a learning disability or physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way. The service was well maintained and met people’s sensory and physical needs. There was evidence of partnership working with health professionals to ensure people were supported in the most appropriate way. Staff supported people to pursue their interests and develop meaningful skills.

Right Care:

Staff had received appropriate training to carry out their roles effectively. The care people received was appropriate to their individual needs. Communication tools were being used to enhance communication between the staff and people. People’s choices and preferences were considered, and rooms were personalised. The service was clean and well-maintained.

Right Culture:

There was a strong person-centred culture within the service and people were encouraged to make decisions around their care. Staff had good knowledge of people and knew how to support them when they were distressed. Staff and relatives were complimentary of the registered manager and the staff were described as approachable. Service users were supported with activities in the community. The service had good links within the local community.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last Inspection

This service was registered with us on 26 March 2021 and this is the first inspection.

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.

Follow up

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