Archived: Southbourne Care Home

Following the inspection the provider sent us an action plan telling us what they were going to do to improve. On this inspection we saw that improvements had been made.

Changes had been made to improve the environment including the safety of rooms, cleaning and the replacement of worn or damaged furnishings. We saw that some signs had been put up to help people orientate themselves and the dining room had been redecorated.

We saw that the care plans had been re-written to include more information about how people's dementia affected their lives. We saw that activities had been better targeted to meet people's individual needs.

Most of the people living at the home had some degree of dementia, some of which presented challenges. We spent some time during the inspection observing the care people received, as well as speaking with people who were able to discuss their care with us.

Overall we found that people were being cared for well. We saw that people were asked for their consent for the care being delivered, and arrangements were in place to ensure peoples' rights were respected. The staff we spoke with were committed to their work and to providing good care for people. We found there were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs in a timely way. However we found that the systems for care planning and the environment had not been adapted to meet the needs of people with dementia.

We found areas of the maintenance and upkeep of the premises needed attention. Risk assessments had not been completed for the environment and we identified risks for people as we toured the home from hot water and poorly fitting fire doors. Some areas of the home and furnishings required deep cleaning to control odour and ensure people lived in a hygienic and attractive environment. We found the home had reacted appropriately to protect people from safeguarding concerns.

The previous manager's name is on this report, but will be removed as they no longer work at the home.

At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager employed at Southbourne. The organisation had informed us that the previous manager had left. However, the previous manager had not deregistered with CQC at the time of the inspection. Therefore their name still remains on any reports until such time that this information is received.

We found that people's needs were met in a respectful and discreet manner. Staff were able to tell us how they respected people's beliefs even though their dementia might mean the person was no longer aware of their previous beliefs.

We saw that care plans contained details of people's physical needs and directions to staff on how to meet these. However, we found that for people's behavioural needs the directions were less clear. Records were well maintained and securely stored.

People told us they felt safe at the home and staff were aware of the procedures to be followed if they suspected abuse was occurring.

We saw medication administration was well managed at the home and ensured people received the correct medication in a timely manner.

We found that staff received training relevant to the needs of the people who lived at the home.