Silverdene Residential Home

Updated 3 February 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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 completed by one inspector. An Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people’s relatives. 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

Silverdene is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was to check the current COVID-19 status at the home following a recent outbreak and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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

We spoke with six people who used the service and nine members of staff including the registered manager, head of operations, team leaders, senior care workers and care workers. 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 a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance, complaints and safeguarding were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. An expert by experience spoke with five relatives by telephone. We looked at quality assurance records, training data, staff meeting minutes and surveys.

Updated 3 February 2022

About the service

Silverdene Residential Home is a residential care home for people with a learning disability, autistic people and / or a physical disability. Accommodation is provided in two neighbouring detached properties and a bungalow located in the grounds of the other homes. The properties consist of the original older residential premises, a small bungalow and a more modern building that was split into two distinct areas. Each building has its’ own kitchen, bathrooms and communal facilities. At the time of our inspection, 16 people were living at Silverdene. The home is registered to support up to 19 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and 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.

Based on our review of the safe, effective and well led key questions, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

The service was developed and designed prior to the introduction of Right support, right care, right culture and is larger than current best practice guidance. The size of the service having a negative impact on people’s lives was mitigated by the home having four distinct areas, each with their own staff team and facilities.

People were able to make their own choices, with support where needed. People received person-centred support and staff clearly explained how they promoted people’s dignity, privacy and independence.

Risks were assessed and guidelines were in place to manage these risks, including if people became agitated. Staff knew how to report any concerns and incidents. Staff had the training to carry out their roles and had been safely recruited. Staff said they felt well supported by their colleagues and the management team. Regular supervision and team meetings were held, and staff were able to raise any ideas or concerns they had.

Current government guidelines for infection control, the use of PPE, COVID-19 testing for staff and visitors and vaccination as a condition of employment were being followed.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Their nutritional and health needs were being met.

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.

The quality assurance system had been improved, with action plans in place for any issues identified through the regular audits. The providers senior management team and directors had greater oversight of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 November 2019) and there was one breach of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the quality assurance system was reviewed. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the quality assurance systems were more robust.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 11 and 12 September 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the need for consent.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.