Seaford Head Retirement Home

Updated 3 March 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 17 February 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 3 March 2022

About the service

Seaford Head Retirement Home is a residential care home providing care and accommodation for up to 16 older people with dementia or dementia type illness. There were 13 people living at the service on the day of our inspection. Seaford Head Retirement Home is an adapted building in a residential area of Seaford based over three floors with an outside seating area for people to use in nice weather.

The provider was registered manager of Seaford Head Retirement Home and a second service they owned also located in Seaford. The registered manager based themselves at the second service and the care manager was in day to day charge of Seaford Head Retirement Home. The registered manager had full oversight and was available when needed

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

People and relatives were positive about the support provided at Seaford Head Retirement Home. Relatives said the care manager was very approachable and that staff were caring.

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.

Risks to people’s health and safety had been identified and actions were in place to ensure risk was minimised. Staff were aware of the actions to take if they thought anyone was at risk of harm or discrimination. Any concerns identified had been reported to appropriate external professionals.

A complaints procedure was in place and although there were no current complaints staff and relatives were aware of the process.

Staff knew people very well, they treated them with kindness and respect and demonstrated a good understanding of people's individual needs. People were assisted to access healthcare services when needed.

Care documentation supported good person centred care for people. Information included peoples care and support needs and personal preferences. People received their medicines when they needed them by staff who were trained to give them out safely.

There were enough staff working to provide the support people needed, at times of their choice. People were supported to continue with hobbies and activities of their choice. Recruitment procedures ensured only suitable staff worked at the home. People told us staff were available when they needed assistance. Relatives felt that consistent staff meant staff knew people well.

A comprehensive system of quality checks and internal audits to monitor care, documentation, safety and quality of the service were completed by the care manager.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (Report published 19 January 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.