Springside

Updated 4 July 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

One inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. 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

Springside 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. Springside 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 who is also the provider.

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 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

One inspector visited Springside on 22 and 24 May 2023. We spoke with the 5 people who used the service and 4 members of staff including the registered manager. On 24 May 2023 we also spoke with a visiting relative about their experience of the care provided.

We looked at a variety of records relating to people's personal care and support and the running of the service. These included, 2 people's care and support plans, 1 person’s medicines records, 2 staff recruitment files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures.

Following the site visits, we received feedback from one professional who works with the service. An Expert by Experience spoke with 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. The inspector also spoke with 1 relative.

Updated 4 July 2023

About the service

Springside is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 8 people in a large family home in a residential area. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people using the service. The service provides support to people who had a range of mild to moderate learning disabilities. Most people were able to carry out their own personal care with prompting and support from staff.

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

Risks to people were not always properly assessed to protect them from avoidable harm. Not all environmental risks for people using the service had been assessed as safe.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and understood their needs. However, care plans and risk assessments were not always up to date. The registered manager was responsive to our feedback and took action to address the issues identified.

People lived in a service impacted by the death of a person who had lived at the home for a long time. People and staff were being supported with this.

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. During the inspection we observed staff supporting people to be independent and have control over their own lives.

People were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

People received support from staff who were not always trained appropriately to support people.

People received their medicines in line with their preferences by staff who knew people well. Staff mostly followed systems and processes to safely administer medicines, however improvements were needed to ensure medicines were stored safely, and staff received appropriate training and competency assessments.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. Staff were observed communicating with people in ways that met their needs and supported people to make choices.

Right Culture

Improvements were needed to make sure there were effective systems to monitor the quality of the service and plan improvements.

The registered manager was open and transparent throughout our inspection. They acted on queries and our feedback throughout the inspection.

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Throughout the inspection we observed that staff were respectful of people and took time to offer support and reassurance when needed.

Staff and the management team at the service spoke positively about people within the service and wanted people to live their best lives. Staff demonstrated their knowledge of people and placed people's wishes, needs, and rights at the heart of everything they did.

Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.

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 20 March 2018)

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to risk management and the management of the service at this inspection.

We have also made recommendations in relation to medicines and infection control.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.