Sandford House - Chesterfield Road

Updated 12 July 2019

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. 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 was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Sandford House - Chesterfield Road is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Sandford House provides care for people requiring support with mental health needs and/or learning disabilities. The service provides accommodation and care for up to 32 people.

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.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

Before this inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, which included correspondence we had received and any notifications submitted to us by the service. Statutory notifications are information the registered provider is legally required to send us about significant events that happen within the service. For example, where a person who uses the service has a serious injury. The registered manager had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR 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.

We contacted social care commissioners who help arrange and monitor the care of people living at Sandford House. We also contacted Healthwatch Sheffield. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During this inspection we spoke with six people. We spoke with seven members of staff which included, the registered manager, a senior care worker and two care workers. We looked at three people's care records. We checked a sample of medication administration records and three staff files, which included recruitment checks, supervisions and appraisals. We also looked at other records relating to the management of the service, such as quality assurance documents.

We spent time observing the daily life in the service and we looked around the building to check the service was safe and clean.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service:

Sandford House - Chesterfield Road provides care for people requiring support with mental health needs and/or learning disabilities. The service provides accommodation and care for up to 32 people. At the time of the inspection 32 people were living at the service, one person was receiving respite care.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service:

People we spoke with did not express any worries or concerns. Safeguarding procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people.

There was a strong, visible person-centred culture. The service ensured that staff in all roles were highly motivated and offered care and support that was exceptionally compassionate and kind.

Individual risk assessments were completed for people so that identifiable risks were managed effectively.

Systems were in place to make sure managers and staff learn from events such as incidents, concerns and investigations.

People we spoke with told us there was always a staff member available to provide them with assistance during the day or night. There were enough staff to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

People were cared for by suitably qualified staff who been assessed as safe to work with people.

The service had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines so people were protected from risks associated with medicines.

People's feedback told us they received exceptionally high quality, personalised, creative and compassionate care. All the people and staff we spoke with gave us positive feedback about the caring nature of the service, quality of the staff and thoughtful support they received.

Relatives had complimented the service on the compassionate care provided including end of life care.

People had access to external health professionals to help promote good health and mental health wellbeing.

All the people spoken with made very positive comments about the staff team and the registered manager.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. We saw the service actively promoted people’s privacy and dignity and independence by using a care card system every day. This system had been designed by the registered manager to increase people’s understanding of respect, dignity, choice, diversity and equality.

Staff had undertaken training which was regularly updated to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively. Staff told us they felt supported and valued.

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.

People were encouraged and supported to maintain a healthy diet.

We saw people responded well to staff and looked at ease and were confident with staff. During our inspection we observed staff were sensitive to times when people needed caring and compassionate support. It was clear from our discussions with staff that they enjoyed caring for people living at the service and they found it rewarding.

There was a range of activities on offer to people living at Sandford House. People were encouraged and supported to engage in activities within the community.

People spoken with felt confident they could raise any concerns with staff or the registered manager and that they would be taken seriously.

The registered manager had a good oversight of the service and were experienced in their role. Staff spoken with made very positive comments about the staff team and the senior staff.

There were planned and regular checks completed at the service to check the quality and safety of the service provided.

Rating at last inspection:

At our last inspection Sandford House was rated good (report published 8 March 2017).

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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