26 & 27 November 2015
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on the 26 and 27 November 2015 and was unannounced. At our previous inspection on the 4 and 5 November 2014, we found issues with how the provider was ensuring the service had enough staff to meet people’s needs safely. This included planning and meeting people’s individual needs, ensuring people’s complaints were dealt with and keeping records that were accurate and complete. When we carried out this inspection this time we found all issues had been addressed.
Springfields Care Home provides nursing and residential services to up to 85 older people. There were 66 people living at the service when we visited. The service has four units providing care for people who may be living with dementia, have a mental health diagnosis or/and a physical disability.
A registered manager was employed to manage the service locally. 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 told us they were safe and happy living at Springfields Care Home and were looked after by staff who were kind and treated them with respect. Comments we received included: “I am happy here, I know everyone. I couldn’t be more pleased. This is a ‘Home from Home’ for me”, “They look after me pretty good here”, “This is a nice place. I couldn’t ask for a better place. It’s nice and clean with fresh air”; “Everyone is so nice. I am quite content with this place” and, “I love it here. The staff are so lovely and look after me so well”.
People felt in control of their care. People’s medicines were administered safely and they had their nutritional and health needs met. People could see other health professionals as required. People had risk assessments in place so they could live safely at the service. These were clearly linked to people’s care plans and staff training to ensure care met people’s individual needs. People’s care plans were written with them, were person centred and reflected how people wanted their care delivered. People’s end of life needs were planned with them. People were supported to end their life with dignity.
Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm and abuse. Staff were recruited safely and underwent training to ensure they were able to carry out their role effectively. Staff were trained to meet people’s specific needs. Staff promoted people’s rights to be involved in planning and consenting to their care. Where people were not able to consent to their care, staff followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This meant people’s human rights were upheld. Staff maintained safe infection control practices.
Activities were provided to keep people physically and mentally stimulated. People’s faith and cultural needs were met. The service was adapted to meet the needs of people so they could live as full a life as possible.
There were clear systems of governance and leadership in place. The provider and registered manager ensured there were systems in place to measure the quality of the service. People, relatives and staff were involved in giving feedback on the service. Everyone felt they were listened to and any contribution they made was taken seriously. Regular audits made sure aspects of the service were running well. Where issues were noted, action was taken to put this right.