Archived: Sheepwood Road Care Home

Updated 23 May 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.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector. Before the inspection, we reviewed previous inspection reports and all other information we had received about the service, including notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

People who lived at the home had learning difficulties and complex support needs. This meant they were not always able to tell us about their experiences. We used a number of different methods such as undertaking observations to help us understand people’s experiences of the home. We used the Short Observational Tool for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the needs of people who could not talk with us.

During the inspection, we spoke with two people living at the home and four staff members. This included the registered manager and a senior staff member.

We viewed three people’s care and support records and four staff files. We also viewed a number of records relating to the management of the home. These included incident and accident records, staff meeting records, recruitment information, supervision information, training records, policies, quality audits and complaints records.

Updated 23 May 2018

The inspection took place on 15 April 2018 and was unannounced. When the service was last inspected on 5 January 2016, no breaches of the legal requirements were identified.

Sheepwood Road Care Home provides personal care and accommodation for up to three people. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at the home.

Sheepwood Road Residential care home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager for the service. The registered manager also ran two other locations for the provider. A team leader was in post who took day-to-day charge of the service. 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 supervision was not being carried out in accordance with the provider’s own supervision policy. This meant staff were not fully supported in their work, which in turn put people at risk of receiving unsafe and unsuitable care. Consideration needs to be given by the registered manager to how to embed into practice the provider's own policy in this area.

Quality audits were not fully effective and had not identified where there were shortfalls in staff supervision. This put people at risk if staff were not properly supported. It also impacted on staff if checks had not identified that they had received suitable development in their work.

Staff understood about abuse and how to protect people at the home. There were safe systems in place for storing, giving and managing people’s medicines. Risks were identified and actions put in place when needed to keep people safe. People were protected by a recruitment procedure that aimed to minimise the risks of unsuitable staff being employed.

People continued to be supported in a way that ensured the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were applied for when appropriate. DoLS is a legal framework to lawfully deprive a person of their liberty when they lack the capacity to make certain decisions in regards to their care and treatment. When a person lacked capacity to make a particular decision, a process was followed in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People were well supported so that their nutrition and hydration needs were met. When it was needed people were able to access healthcare professionals to support them with their care and treatment needs. Care records contained detailed information about how to support people with their full range of needs.

People were supported by staff who had a kind and respectful approach towards them. Staff knew about equalities and diversity when they supported people at the home. People were supported by staff who understood their unique needs.

People were supported in ways that were flexible to their needs. Care plans helped staff to understand how to provide care and support that was responsive to their changing needs. People were well supported to take part in social and therapeutic activities in the home and the community.

There continued to be systems in place to monitor the quality of the care provided. There were regular team meetings and staff were encouraged to give feedback. Staff felt involved in making decisions with people about the home.