We carried out a review of the data available to us about Sherwood House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Sherwood House, you can give feedback on this service.
We found the following examples of good practice.
¿ Access to the home was restricted. No new admissions to the home were currently permitted. This was a decision taken by the provider to reduce the risk of current residents contracting the virus.
¿ No visitors, other than healthcare professionals and people booked to provide maintenance at the home were allowed inside. Before entering the home all visitors had their temperature checked and were asked a series of questions about their current health. A decision was then made whether to permit them to enter the home. A record of all visitors was recorded at the entrance. This helped to reduce the risk of the spread of infection.
¿ There were procedures in place to start to commence visitors being able to see people at the home. All pre-arranged visitors will have access to the conservatory area and will not access any other parts of the home. Safe infection control practices were in place within the conservatory to reduce the risk of the spread of infection.
¿ Staff supported people to maintain contact with family and friends in other ways. This has included the use of technology, such as Skype as well as regular phone calls.
¿A colour coded system was in place to help inform staff whether a person in their bedroom had COVID-19 or were awaiting the results of the test. Red meant a person had COVID-19. Amber meant a person was waiting for the outcome of a COVID-19 test. No colour meant the person did not have COVID-19 nor were waiting for the results of a test. This process helped to inform staff what levels of PPE they were required to wear before entering the person's bedroom. This helped to reduce the risk of the spread of infection.
¿Staff numbers had been increased on all shifts. This was particularly important to support people who were living with dementia understand the restrictions that were in place because of COVID-19.
¿There were adequate supplies of PPE and stock levels were regularly checked.
¿Regular testing was completed of staff and people living at the home. The measures put in place by the provider ensured that at the time of the inspection no people living at the home had COVID-19.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
People’s experience of using this service:
The service did not always have enough staff to enable them to offer care and support to people with complex needs. Three of the people living at Sherwood House required two people to support them with personal care and to transfer using equipment. There were only two members of staff on duty which meant that staff were unable to support people adequately and would have been unable to respond to an emergency. A senior was on duty but was unable to support the staff during medication rounds.
The environment was safe, clean and suitable for people’s needs. The home was situated in a well maintained garden area with good access for people to be able to enjoy going outside and walking or sitting.
People received kind and caring support from staff who respected their dignity and privacy. They were encouraged to be as independent as possible and staff understood their needs well. Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of people and knew how they liked to be supported.
People were supported to take their medicines by well trained and knowledgeable staff who understood their preferences of how they liked to take them.
People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition; including partnerships with other organisations when needed. There were plans in place which detailed people’s likes and dislikes. Choice was offered at mealtimes and the food was well presented. People and relatives knew how to raise a concern or complaint.
People were protected from the risk of harm and staff had received training in safeguarding and how to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff told us how they would report through a safeguarding concern either through internal channels or through to the local authority if necessary.
The management team showed evidence of quality monitoring across all aspects of the home. Any concerns raised by people, relatives or staff were taken seriously and addressed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: This was the first full comprehensive inspection of this service since the provider registered with us in April 2018.
Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per out re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.