Southlawns

Updated 31 October 2019

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 and one 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

Southlawns 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 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 took place on 14 and 15 August 2019 and 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 the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people who used the service and four visitors including family members and a health professional. We spoke with the registered manager and the operations manager. We also spoke with six members of staff who were either care staff, activity staff or ancillary staff.

We looked at four people’s care records. We observed care and support in communal areas. We looked at two staff files. We looked at information received in relation to the general running of the home including medication records, auditing systems, policies and procedures, and environmental files.

After the inspection

During the inspection we asked for further information including about training and an update on concerns we had found. The registered manager also sent additional information in relation to their service. All the information was provided in the time scales given and the information has been included in this report.

Updated 31 October 2019

About the service

Southlawns is a residential care home providing personal without nursing to 39 older people at the time of the inspection. One of these people was completing a short stay at the home. The service can support up to 40 people. Some people would come to the home during the day as a social opportunity. These people were not receiving a regulated activity.

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

People told us they were happy living at the home and they felt safe. However, medicine was not always being managed safely. Medicines were administered safely. Most risks had been identified with ways to mitigate them in place. Although some training and guidance was not in place for people with specific health conditions.

The provider and management had completed a range of audits to identify concerns and issues at the service. They strove to be open and constantly develop and improve the support people were receiving. When audits had identified issues, actions were being taken to rectify them. When concerns were raised during the inspection the management found solutions. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to notify the Care Quality Commission of certain events in line with their statutory obligations.

People were supported by enough staff to meet their needs. Although there were some mixed opinions from staff members. Staff had received a range of training including specialist in health and social care. People were comfortable in the presence of the staff.

People had care plans which were personalised and provided a range of information for staff to use to support their needs and wishes. The management had recognised further work was required to capture all the detail staff members knew about people. There were good links with other health and social care professionals and one health professional complemented the responsiveness of staff to their suggestions.

Staff were kind and caring and knew the people living at the home incredibly well. Staff respected privacy and dignity throughout the inspection. Links were being developed with the community to have a positive impact for people. Independence was promoted, as were the values of treating each person as an individual.

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.

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 this service was good (published 23 February 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe section of this full report. We have made one recommendation about medicine management.

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.