Archived: Sandringham Road

Updated 14 February 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 checked 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.

The inspection took place on 3 January 2018 and was announced. The registered provider was given short notice because the location was a small care home for people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector. At the time of our inspection there were five people using the service.

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from a number of sources. We also looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the Care Quality Commission by the registered manager. We also spoke with the local authority and other professionals supporting people at the service, to gain further information about the service.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. We observed care and support in communal areas and looked at the environment. We spoke with people and their relatives and observed their care and support being provided by staff. We met all of the five people who used the service. Some people we spoke with had limited verbal communication. Other people had complex needs and we were unable to verbally seek their views.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with two care workers, a senior care worker, the registered manager and the new manager. We looked at documentation relating to people who used the service, staff and the management of the service. We looked at two people’s care and support records, including the plans of their care. We saw the systems used to manage people’s medication, including the storage and records kept. We also looked at the quality assurance systems to check if they were robust and identified areas for improvement.

Updated 14 February 2018

The inspection took place on 3 January 2018 and was announced. We gave the registered provider very short notice of our inspection as we wanted to make sure someone would be at the service on the day of our inspection. The last comprehensive inspection took place in October 2015 when the registered provider was meeting the regulations. You can read the report from our last inspections, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Sandringham Road’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Sandringham Road is a six bedded care home providing care and support for people living with a learning disability. The service is located in the Doncaster suburb of Intake. The service is close to public transport links and local amenities. Staff working at the home are employed by Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. 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.’ 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. However, the registered manager had recently moved to another location within the company and a new manager had begun in post. These changes occurred on the 1 January 2018. As the changes were so current, the registered manager attended the inspection to support the new manager.

Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff told us they would report abuse straight away. The service had sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. Care records included risk assessments which assisted staff in supporting people whilst minimising any risks associated with their care. People received their medicines in a safe way. However, we found that the room used to store medicines was slightly above the recommended temperature for storing medicines. We raised this with the registered manager and the new manager who were looking at ways to reduce the temperature of the room.

Staff training took place and staff felt supported to carry out their role. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. We found the registered provider to be compliant with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We saw people were offered choice and they were respected. People had access to healthcare professionals as required and their support was sought without delay.

People who used the service and the staff team got on well together. Staff showed kindness and a caring manner in their interactions with people. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity.

People received personalised care which was responsive to their needs. Care plans were in place which detailed the support people required. The registered provider had a complaints procedure.

The management team consisted of a new manager, deputy manager, and a team of senior care workers. The management team offered support and guidance to the rest of the staff team. Systems were in place to ensure policies and procedures were being followed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below