Archived: The Sandford Nursing and Residential Home

The Sandford Nursing and Residential Home is a residential nursing care home providing personal and nursing care to 27 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 35 older people.

People are accommodated in individual rooms across three floors, with access to each floor by passenger lift. Accessible bathrooms and toilet facilities are situated on each floor. People have access to communal areas and direct access to the garden.

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

Systems and processes were in place to help keep people safe and risks associated with their care needs had been assessed. People were supported by enough staff who had been recruited safely. People’s medicines were managed safely and they got them when they needed them. The home was clean and staff practice helped to reduce the risk of cross infection. Incidents were monitored to help reduce the likelihood of them happening again.

People continued to receive an effective service which met their care and support needs. Staff training ensured they had the relevant skills to meet people's care and support needs. People had enough to eat and drink to maintain their wellbeing and they had access to the healthcare support they needed.

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.

People were treated well by staff and their privacy, dignity and independence was promoted and respected. Staff had formed positive relationships with people and involved them in making decisions about their care. People felt listened to and treated with kindness.

People received care which was personalised to meet their needs. They had access to activities which they enjoyed and were part of the local community. Complaints were responded to and investigated in a timely way.

The provider and registered manager had oversight of the home and the quality of care provided by staff. People were happy living at the home and enjoyed the positive culture. Staff worked well together as a team, and there was good partnership working with others to meet people's needs. Staff morale was good and staff felt well supported.

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 22 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

People still felt safe living at the home. Staff knew how to recognise, respond to and report abuse. The risks to people had been assessed and reviewed with them, and plans put in place to manage these. Appropriate staffing levels at the home ensured people's needs could be met safely. The provider had developed systems and procedures designed to ensure people received their medicines safely and as prescribed.

People had confidence in the staff team’s knowledge and skills. Staff received the training and ongoing support needed to perform their job roles effectively. The management team and staff understood and protected people's rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People had enough to eat and drink, and their individual dietary and nutritional needs were assessed and addressed. Staff helped people to access a range of healthcare services in order to maintain their health.

Staff adopted a caring and compassionate approach towards their work, and took the time to get to know people well. People's participation in care planning and decision-making was encouraged and facilitated. People's rights to privacy and dignity were recognised and promoted by staff.

People received care and support tailored to their individual needs and requirements. People had the support they needed to pursue their interests and spend time doing things they found enjoyable. People knew how to raise complaints and concerns about their care, and felt comfortable doing so.

The management team encouraged an open, ongoing dialogue with people, the external professionals involved in their care and the staff team. People had confidence in the management of the service. Staff felt valued, supported and able to request additional guidance and support from the management team. The provider carried out quality assurance activities to assess and improve the quality of the service people received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The staff told us that they always assumed people had the capacity to make decisions for themselves unless there was evidence that they didn't. We saw that the provider had carried out capacity assessments when appropriate. We also saw evidence that best interest meetings had been held to make decisions on people's behalf when appropriate.

We saw that care plans were very person centred. The plans contained lots of information to help staff provide good consistent care. We saw that the plans were regularly reviewed and updated. We saw staff treating people with respect and kindness throughout our visit.

We found that medicines were safely stored, handled and administered. Medicine records were accurate and doctors' instructions were properly acted upon.

Staff told us they had attended a range of training courses to equip them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their duties effectively. The staff also had the opportunity to regularly meet with their manager to review their performance and address any training and development needs.

We found that people had been involved in helping to plan their own care and treatment. People's views were listened to and respected. Care plans were person centred and focussed on helping people retain as much control and independence as possible.

People told us that they felt safe in the home. There was a clear policy to help keep people safe and staff we spoke with understood it.

We found that appropriate checks were properly carried out on staff before they were allowed to start work.

The provider had a complaints policy in place but had not received a formal complaint for more than two years.