Sandy Banks Care Home

Updated 30 April 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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 and two Experts by Experience. 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

Sandy Banks Care Home 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service a short period of notice of the inspection to ensure it was safe for us to visit during the current Covid19 pandemic.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the relatives of 20 people living in the home, nine members of staff and the area manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed. We toured the whole building and reviewed maintenance records.

Updated 30 April 2021

About the service

Sandy Banks is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 39 people. At the time of this inspection there were 31 people living in the home most of whom were living with dementia. The home had a variety of communal spaces available which included, lounges, dining rooms and quiet areas.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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's experience of using this service and what we found

People received safe care from staff who had received the necessary training and information about people's needs and preferences.

Relatives we spoke with were confident their relations were safe. Comments included, "[Name] is very safe there, they were brilliant with [name] and are very good and caring.", "They look after [name] really well, they are very safe there." and "The quality of care is excellent, [name] health and wellbeing has improved considerably."

Staff had been recruited safely and received induction training and other training relevant to their roles. Staff told us they felt confident they understood people's needs and how to care for them.

Risk assessment and management plans helped people to maintain their safety and wellbeing whilst promoting their independence and control.

People were protected, as far as possible, from the risks associated with the Covid 19 pandemic by robust policies and procedures.

The home was well managed and both staff and relatives said the home was friendly and caring. One relative said, "I think the openness in the home comes from the (registered) manager. If we ask a question we always feel they are telling us the truth."

People's relatives felt they had been communicated with on a regular basis during the recent pandemic lockdown. Comments included, "I get at least one phone call a week." and "They have a lady who rings me regularly. I know I could always speak to the manager if I had any problems at all."

Rating at the last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published April 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a focused inspection prompted in part by some concerns which had been raised with CQC. The information suggested people may not be receiving consistent safe care in relation to personal care, skin care and health care. We looked at the key questions of safe and well-led. We did not find evidence to support the concerns and were assured people received safe care.

Follow up

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