Background to this inspection
Updated
2 April 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This 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.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.
Service and service type
Sovereign House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection site visit took place on 11 March 2020 and was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must tell us about, such as any safeguarding alerts they had raised. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning. 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.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with three people using the service, two visiting relatives and one regular visiting health care professional to seek their feedback on the service. Following our inspection, we also spoke with two relatives by telephone to seek their feedback on the service. We also 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.
We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior care workers, care workers and the cook. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care plans and records and two staff recruitment and training records. We also reviewed records used in managing the service, for example, policies and procedures, monitoring records and minutes of meetings.
Updated
2 April 2020
About the service
Sovereign House is a large detached property with lift access to two floors. It’s located in Herne Bay and is a short walk from the beach and town centre. The service provides residential care and support for up to ten older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were nine people living at the service.
People’s experience of using this service
People and their relatives spoke positively about the service and said staff were very caring and supportive. Throughout our inspection we observed staff interacted well with people and had formed good relationships with them and their relatives.
There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these and how to keep people safe. People's needs, and preferences were assessed and risks were identified with plans in place to manage risks safely. Medicines were administered, stored and managed safely and staff followed infection control practices to prevent the spread of infections. Robust recruitment checks were in place and there were sufficient staff available to meet people's needs. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to support people appropriately. Staff were supported through induction, training and supervision.
People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet that met their dietary needs and preferences. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People were involved in and consulted about their care and support needs. People had access to health and social care professionals as required. People were supported to participate in activities of their choosing. Staff worked with people to promote their rights and understood the Equality Act 2010.
There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service. The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to plan and deliver an effective service. The service took people’s and staff’s views into account to help drive service improvements.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: Good (published 8 August 2017).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit in line with our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect the service sooner.