Southlands Residential Home Limited

Updated 31 July 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 comprehensive inspection took place on 27 and 29 June 2018 and the first day was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector from CQC.

Before the inspection we reviewed information available to us about this service. The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) in March 2018. The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also reviewed any share your experience forms and notifications that had been sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people and three relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, and four care staff. Additionally, we spoke with a local authority professional and two healthcare professionals as part of our inspection.

We reviewed five people's care records, looked at five staff files and reviewed records relating to the management of medicines, complaints, training and how the registered persons monitored the quality of the service. We used all this information to inform our judgement.

Updated 31 July 2018

Southlands Residential Home is a large detached property, registered to provide accommodation for up to 27 people; this is provided in either single or shared rooms. The home has large, well maintained gardens and a large car park for visitors. It is situated close to local amenities and bus routes into Bolton.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager at the home. 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.

People told us they felt safe living at the home and were supported to have 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.

There were sufficient staff available to ensure people's wellbeing, safety and security was protected. An appropriate recruitment and selection process was in place which ensured new staff had the right skills and were suitable to work with people living in the home.

Staff had a good understanding of systems in place to manage medicines, safeguarding matters and behaviours that are challenging to others. People's medicines were managed so they received them safely.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and audited monthly to identify any trends or re-occurrences. The home had been responsive in referring people to other services when there were concerns about their health.

Relatives we spoke with said they felt welcome to visit at any time; they felt involved in care planning and were confident that their comments and concerns would be acted upon. The provider learned from complaints and comments and used them to improve the service.

Risk assessments were in place for a number of areas and were regularly updated. Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people’s health conditions.

The service worked in partnership with other professionals and agencies to meet people's care needs.

Feedback received from people who used the service and their relatives was overwhelmingly positive and people were encouraged to contribute their views. People were positive about the staff who supported them and told us they liked the staff and were treated with dignity and kindness. People told us they felt safe living at the home.

People were satisfied with the food provided at the home and the support they received in relation to nutrition and hydration. There was an open and transparent culture and encouragement for people to provide feedback.

People told us they were aware of how to make a complaint and were confident they could express any concerns and these would be addressed.

Staff told us they enjoyed working for the organisation and spoke positively about the culture and management of the service. They also told us that they were encouraged to openly discuss any issues.

Further improvements had been made to the design and decoration of the environment and a large, secure sun terrace provided an easily accessible and peaceful external space for people to enjoy. There was a homely atmosphere and due consideration was given to the needs of people with dementia.

Audit and governance systems were in place and operated effectively and statutory notifications were sent to CQC appropriately.

There was an up to date certificate of registration with CQC and insurance certificates on display as required. We saw the last CQC report was also displayed in the premises as per legal requirements.