Archived: Sandbanks

Updated 18 February 2017

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.

The inspection took place on 4 January 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, we checked the information that we held about the service including notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the registered provider is required to send us by law. The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) and we reviewed this. A 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 spoke with two people who were staying for respite at Sandbanks and spent time observing the interaction between people at the service and staff. We also spoke to the registered manager, a senior support coordinator, a support coordinator and a person who undertook daytime activities with people. After our visit we spoke to two health and social care professionals and a family member of a person that uses the service by telephone.

We looked at some areas of the home, including some bedrooms (with people's permission) and all communal areas.

We reviewed a range of records including the care records for three people using the service. These included support plans, risk assessments and daily records. We also looked at other records relating to the management of the service. These included staff training, support and employment records for four staff members, Medication Administration Records (MAR) charts, quality assurance audits and findings from questionnaires the registered provider sensor people and relatives.

We contacted the local authority monitoring in safeguarding teams and they did not raise any areas of concern. The service was last inspected in 2014 and we did not identify any areas of concern.

Updated 18 February 2017

The inspection took place on 4 January 2017 and was unannounced.

Sandbanks is a purpose built property covering two floors. The service can accommodate 12 people with a learning disability for short or longer period of respite including emergency respite. The age range of people using the service is 18 to 68 years. Care and support was provided to people living with a learning disability and other conditions that included diabetes and epilepsy. On the day of our inspection there were six people at the service for planned respite and three people who had accessed the service for emergency respite. The service had 40 people accessing the service for regular respite.

The service has 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.

Staff recruitment procedures were robust, which ensured that appropriate checks were carried out before new staff started their employment. Staff received a thorough induction which included shadowing experienced staff. All staff undertook regular training to ensure they had up to date knowledge and skills to provide the right support and care to people.

Risks to people were anticipated, identified and monitored. Staff managed risk effectively and supported people's decisions, so they had as much control and independence as possible. Risks were regularly reviewed and updated.

Staff had received training in adult safeguarding and were assessed as competent in how to recognise and report abuse. Staff knew how to report concerns and were confident any concern would be fully investigated to ensure people were protected.

People were supported to take their medicines by staff who were appropriately trained and had undergone annual competency assessments. Medicines were stored, administered and recorded in accordance with the registered providers policies and procedures.

People were involved in the development of their care plans. These provided staff with clear direction and guidance about how to meet each person's individual needs. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated. This meant people received person centred care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Dietary needs were planned for and when required, monitored to ensure people had sufficient food and drink to meet their individual needs.

Daily records and end of respite records clearly documented people's daily activities, medication administration, any concerns as well as other information relevant to the person.

People knew how to raise concerns and make complaints. People, their relatives and health and social care professionals who had raised concerns confirmed they had been dealt with promptly and to their satisfaction.

The management structure within the service provided clear lines of responsibility and accountability.

There were quality assurance systems in place to ensure areas for improvement were identified and addressed. People's feedback, views and ideas were actively sought from the management team and used for service development.