Archived: Abbeville Sands

Updated 2 June 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 checked 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.

This inspection took place on 12 April 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors, one of whom specialised in medicines.

Prior to this inspection we liaised with the local authority and reviewed information held about the service. We reviewed statutory notifications we had received from the service. Providers are required to notify us about events and incidents that occur in the home including deaths, serious injuries sustained and safeguarding matters.

During this inspection we spoke with six people living in the home. We also spoke with three staff members, the manager and the management consultant.

We made general observations of the care and support people received at the service. We looked at the medication records of each person living in the home and care records for four people. We viewed records relating to staff recruitment as well as training and supervision records. We also reviewed a range of maintenance records and documentation monitoring the quality of the service.

Updated 2 June 2017

This inspection took place on 13 April 2017 and was unannounced. Our previous inspection carried out on 12 and 13 October 2016 found two breaches of regulations of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These related to staff training and the governance of the service.

This April 2017 inspection found that improvements had been made in all areas and that the provider was no longer in breach of any regulations of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. However, some further improvements were still required.

Abbeville Sands provides accommodation and care for up to 20 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of this inspection 11 people were living in the home.

The registered manager was not in charge of the service. The person referred to as the manager in this report had been managing the home for 14 months. They were in the process of applying for registration. 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 living in the service were safe. Staff knew the risks specific to individuals and ensured that these were minimised as far as was possible. Recruitment processes were robust and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

Improvements were required in relation to determining when an assessment of someone’s mental capacity was required and how to apply this to the care records system. However, staff had a good understanding of people’s cognitive abilities and assisted people to make their own decisions when appropriate.

People enjoyed the food and those that required support with their nutrition received this. Staff received suitable training and support. People’s healthcare needs were well managed and staff sought advice and guidance from healthcare professionals when necessary.

People were cared for by staff who treated them with respect and kindness. People were positive about the staff that supported them and there was a relaxed atmosphere in the home.

Considerable improvements had been made in the governance arrangements of the service. A improved set of auditing checks were in place. However, these were not yet fully implemented.

The service had made considerable improvements since our October 2016 inspection. However, we remain concerned about the ability of the provider to make further progress and sustain the improvements made.

This service has been in Special Measures. Services that are in Special Measures are kept under review and inspected again within six months. We expect services to make significant improvements within this timeframe. During this inspection the service demonstrated to us that improvements have been made and is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is now out of Special Measures.