Archived: Southbank

Southbank is a residential care home providing personal care to up to thirteen younger adults and older people who may live with learning disabilities and autism, physical disabilities or sensory impairments. Southbank provides both temporary and permanent care and accommodation. At the time of the inspection there were eight people permanently living at the home, and five people who were staying at Southbank for a short stay.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. The size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area. There were deliberately no identifying signs to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

Services that provide health and social care to people are required to inform the Care Quality Commission (CQC), of important events that happen in the service. Provider checks had not ensured this consistently happened, and this had led to delays in CQC being advised of some important events.

Following feedback from CQC at the provider’s other locations, the registered manager was working with the provider to further develop other areas of their governance systems, to ensure these were fully effective, and supported the continued development of the care provided at Southbank.

People were supported by staff who knew how to recognise abuse and to promote people’s safety, should this occur. Risks to people’s safety were regularly assessed and reflected people’s needs. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs and to support them when people chose. Medicines were managed safely by staff who had received appropriate training and staff supported people to achieve good health outcomes by assisting them to review what medicines they required. The home was clean, and staff took action to reduce the likelihood of the spread of infections.

Staff considered people’s needs and wishes when their care needs were assessed. Relatives were consulted when their family member’s needs were assessed and reviewed. People were cared for by staff who had undertaken training linked to the needs of the people they cared for. Staff knew if people needed any extra help to have enough to eat and drink and obtained advice from other health professionals to promote people’s health. 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.

People had developed close bonds with the staff who cared for them and enjoyed spending time with staff. Relatives told us staff knew their family members well. Staff used their knowledge of what was important to people when caring for them, and ensured people had time to be involved in decision about their day to day care. People were supported to maintain their dignity and their right to independence was considered by staff.

Staff understood how people liked to receive their care and took this, and the view of people’s relatives into account, when developing and reviewing people’s care plans and risk assessments. This helped to ensure people’s wishes and needs would be met. Systems were in place for managing any complaints and to take learning from these.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain enjoy new experiences and maintain their independence.

Plans had been put in place to support people to have the care they wished at the end of their lives. The registered manager planned further development of people's care plans, to identify their wishes in the event of their sudden death, so people's preferences would be known.

Relatives were complimentary about the way their family member’s care was provided and how the home was led. A health and social care professional told us staff were organised and had a good appreciation of people’s needs. Staff felt supported to provide good care.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 21 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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

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

Southbank provides accommodation and personal care for up to 13 people who have a learning disability. The home consists of three linked bungalows, one of which provides respite services. At the time of the inspection, seven people were living at the home and a total of 18 people were using the home’s respite facility at different times.

The service is required to have a registered manager and there was a registered manager in post when we inspected. 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 were protected from avoidable harm and abuse. Staff had received training in and understood how to recognise and report abuse. The risks associated with people’s individual care and support needs had been assessed, kept under review and plans put in place to control these. Staffing levels at the service enabled the provider to meet people’s individual needs safely. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with people. People’s medicines were handled and administered safely by trained staff.

Staff had the training, supervision and ongoing support needed to carry out their roles effectively. People’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were understood and protected. People had enough to eat and drink, and their dietary and nutritional requirements were assessed and addressed with appropriate input from nutritional specialists. Staff played a positive role in helping people to maintain their health and access healthcare services as needed.

Staff took a caring and compassionate approach towards their work, and took the time to get to know people well. The provider had put measures in place to encourage and facilitate people’s involvement in decisions about their care and support. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and understood the need to protect people’s personal information.

People received care and support that reflected their individual requirements and preferences. Staff understood the purpose of, and followed, people’s care plans. People had support to spend time doing things they found enjoyable and to access the local community. People’s relatives knew how to raise concerns and complaints with the provider, and felt confident these would be acted upon.

The management team promoted open communication with people, their relatives, external health and social care professionals and the staff team. People’s relatives and staff found the management team approachable and had confidence in their willingness to deal with issues fairly. Staff felt valued and were clear what was expected of them. The provider carried out quality assurance activities to assess and improve the quality of the service people received.