Sahara Parkside

Updated 4 December 2021

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Sahara Parkside 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 home did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. They and the registered provider have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The manager of the service was unavailable for our inspection but after the inspection, they told us they would be sending their registration application to us. We met the nominated individual during our inspection. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we already held about the service. This included the last inspection report, feedback from the local authority and other care professionals, data and notifications. A notification is information about events in the service, which the provider is required to tell us about by law, such as serious injuries.

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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with the deputy manager, the nominated individual and three members of staff. We also spoke with one person who lived in the home. We were unable to speak with some people due to their needs. We 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 reviewed documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the service. We looked at three care plans and at other documents relating to quality assurance, medicine management, staffing and infection control.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider and the manager to validate evidence found. We spoke with two relatives for their feedback about the home.

Updated 4 December 2021

Sahara Parkside is a care home for up to 30 adults with learning disabilities, acquired brain injuries and autistic spectrum conditions. The home is a multi-storey building comprised of ten three-bedroom flats with en-suite facilities. At the time of our inspection, nine people were living there.

People’s experience of using this service

Improvements had been made in the home following our last inspection. The management team had developed robust quality assurance systems to monitor the safety and quality of the home. Improvements in how people’s medicines were stored had been made to ensure they were kept at recommended temperature levels.

The home was safe. People were protected from the risk of abuse through the provider’s safeguarding procedures. People were supported to understand the safeguarding process. Staff were trained in how to identify abuse and report it. There were systems to ensure risks to people were assessed and mitigated against. The provider assessed the required staffing numbers to support people. Staff were recruited in a safe way and checks were carried out to ensure they were suitable to work with people. Accidents and incidents in the home were reviewed and analysed to learn lessons to help prevent their re-occurrence. There were effective procedures to prevent and control the spread of infections.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, Right care, Right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was not able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• The physical setting did not meet the principles because it was a large apartment building for up to 30 people, with offices for staff located on the ground floor, and thus a campus style environment. There were obvious signs it was a care home from the outside. However, people were supported to have choice and control of how their care and support was delivered to them. People were supported to integrate into the local community and be as independent as possible.

Right care:

• Care was person-centred and staff people’s dignity, privacy and human rights were respected.

Right culture:

• The values and attitudes of staff and managers in the home encouraged people to be as independent as possible and feel empowered in their daily lives.

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.

Staff were supported by the provider and managers. They received training and ongoing supervision to maintain their skills and development. People were able to choose their food and drink preferences and were supported to attend healthcare appointments.

People had developed positive relationships with staff. They were supported by staff to maintain relationships with family and friends to help avoid social isolation. The provider had designed a day centre to support people in the home to engage in meaningful activities that interested them.

Care plans were personalised to meet the needs and preferences of people. There was a complaints process for people and their relatives to use. People’s communication needs were understood and met. Feedback was sought from people and relatives to help make continuous improvements to the home.

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

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection, the service was rated Requires Improvement (report published 10 October 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sahara Parkside on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.