Sandy Mount

Updated 9 April 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.’

Inspection team:

The inspection took place on 11 and 14 March 2019 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection to ensure the registered manager would be available to meet with us. The inspection was conducted by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care' housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant's own home. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support service.

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.

What we did:

Prior to our inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service. This included information from notifications received from the registered provider, feedback from the local authority safeguarding team and commissioners. We reviewed all the information we had been provided with from third parties to fully inform our approach to inspecting this service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information was used to help inform our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people living at Sandy Mount and two relatives to gain their views on the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, the regional manager, the housing support officer, the maintenance officer, and five members of care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. These included three people's care records held in the office and one in a person’s apartment. We reviewed three medication records. We also looked at three staff recruitment files and records relating to staff training and supervision. We reviewed records relating to the management of the home and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 9 April 2019

About the service: Sandy Mount is a purpose built 41-apartment complex, extra care facility providing flexible care and support to meet people’s needs. It has a number of communal facilities including a lounge, activity room, therapy suite, hairdressing salon, landscaped garden and a bistro. There were 46 people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People supported by the service and their relatives consistently told us the registered manager and staff who supported them were caring and professional in their approach to their work.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Staff understood how to manage any risks to people and knew the processes to follow to manage any allegations of abuse.

Potential risks to people had been identified and measures were put in place to reduce the likelihood of harm. People had been involved with decisions in how to reduce the risk of harm to them.

People were supported by staff who received appropriate training and support to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Staff felt supported by the management team.

People received support to eat and drink if this was part of their care plan. Staff knew how to access relevant healthcare professionals, and this was evidenced in people’s care records. The service worked in partnership with other organisations and healthcare professionals to improve people's outcomes.

People's care and support had been planned proactively and in partnership with them. People felt consulted and listened to about how their care would be delivered. 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 supported this practice.

Staff knew people well and supported them in line with their current needs and wishes. Staff were knowledgeable about people's likes and dislikes and personal preferences.

People and their relatives were aware of the complaints procedure although they had not needed to use this.

The service was well-led by a team of managers who were passionate about improving the lives of the people living at the service.

The provider and registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. We saw detailed provider audits, measuring the service against best practice to ensure a good standard of care provision.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations such as the local authority and health professionals and the voluntary sector. The service acted as a community hub for various activities attended both by people living in the facility and people in the local community.

Rating at last inspection: Good; Published 2 September 2016

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection to check this service remained Good.

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