Archived: Sand Banks Care Centre

Updated 17 November 2018

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

This inspection took place on 5 September 2018. The inspection was unannounced. We completed all inspection activity on this date. It included speaking to people and their relatives, speaking to other professionals, reading people’s care plans and other documents held in the home to demonstrate compliance with the regulated activity. The inspection team consisted of two adult social care inspectors,

Before we visited the service, we checked the information we held about this location and the service provider, for example, inspection history, safeguarding notifications and complaints. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to the Commission by law. We also contacted professionals involved in supporting people who used the service, including commissioners and care managers. Information provided by these professionals was used to inform the inspection.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make”

During the inspection we spoke with five people who used the service and five of their relatives. Nine staff including the manager, area manager, senior care staff, care staff, activities coordinator, kitchen, maintenance staff. We looked at four people’s care records in detail, four staff recruitment files and four staff training records.

Updated 17 November 2018

This inspection took place on 5 September 2018 and our inspection was unannounced. This meant the service did not know we would be visiting,

At our last inspection in November 2017 we rated the service as Requires Improvement and found breaches of regulations 18 and 17. The breaches concerned the staffing levels, records and staff recruitment.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions safe and effective to at least good. During this inspection we found improvements and no further breaches of the regulation. However, there were still areas of improvement to be achieved and sustained.

Sand Banks Care Centre 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 accommodates up to 77 people in one adapted building across three floors. At the time of inspection, there were 54 people using the service. There was no one receiving nursing care at the time of our inspection.

The service did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons 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 at the home had applied to become the registered manager and was waiting for an interview with the CQC. The manager had extensive experience of working in the social care sector

Medicines were administered safely and were managed however we found that some records systems were not in place for topical medicines and ‘as and when required’ medicines.

Some records relating to medicines were not in place however, these were addressed during our inspection.

Best interest decisions records were not always kept effectively to show the process that had taken place and who was involved when best interest decisions were made for people

Care plans were person centred regarding people’s preferences and were personalised. However, some still needed improving.

People’s personal risks had been identified and more detailed risk assessments had been written to give staff the necessary guidance on how to keep people safe.

Staff were trained in safeguarding, first aid, the Mental Capacity Act and infection control. Additional training was in place or planned in areas specific to people’s individual needs. Feedback from staff regarding their training was positive.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their needs. This had improved since the last inspection. Additional staff were added to each area of the home and new staff had also been recruited safely.

People’s nutrition and hydration needs were met and they were supported to maintain a healthy diet, Where needed records to support this were detailed.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. We observed positive, dignified interactions between people and staff. The feedback from people and their relatives was positive about the staff.

People were complimentary about the food. The food served appeared appetising.

Communication systems were in place for staff. Staff used handover notes to pass on important information between shifts.

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.

Improvements were made to systems that ensured staff were employed safely and pre-employment checks were carried out on staff before they began working in the service.

Staff were supported through an induction period. They received training and supervision from the manager together with an annual appraisal.

The manager introduced a monitoring system to highlight people’s dependency needs to monitor the staffing levels on duty. Rotas’ showed there were consistent numbers of staff on duty each day to meet people’s needs.

People were supported to maintain their independence by staff that understood and valued the importance of this.

People were supported to take part in a wide range of activities at home and in the wider community as active citizens and to suit their individual preferences.

The home was exceptionally clean, tidy, well presented and infection control was carried out to a high standard.

People were supported to access information in a variety of formats to suit their needs and adaptations could be made to suit individual needs.

Arrangements were in place for people to receive appropriate end of life care. We received positive feedback from relatives regarding this area of care. Surveys had been used to monitor the quality of the services. The largely positive results had been presented and were on display in the home.

Staff, people who used the service, relatives and other professionals agreed that the manager led the service well and was approachable and accountable. We found they had a sound knowledge of the needs of people who used the service and clear expectations of staff. They had plans in place to make further improvements to the service.

A programme of audits was carried out by the manager which were effective at improving the service and we saw that improvements were ongoing.

Partnership working was in place with other professionals, including; health care professionals, and dietitians or specialist consultants were Involved in people’s care as and when this was needed and staff supported people with any appointments.

Notifications of significant events were submitted to us in a timely manner by the manager.