Southdowns Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

The culture of the service was positive and one where learning was part of every day practice. The registered manager was available and approachable to staff, people and families. The staff team felt valued and well supported in their roles, and able to ask anything or make suggestions for improvement of the service. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff spoke of the vision of the service, they clearly enjoyed working at Southdowns and were very proud of the care they delivered, "We have come a long way in the last year, we are now a tight team. Values of the service is about continuity of care, I love working here, good team to work with, supportive and caring." We were told that the management team listened, and that it made them feel valued as a staff member. They also said that the registered manager was very knowledgeable professional and committed to her role. A staff member also said, "Lots of new strategies in place, real improvements seen and I have learned a lot from them."

Processes were in place to promote a positive learning culture at the home and ensure staff and management had the same shared direction. The management team spoke of their vision for the service and how they shared this with staff through supervisions and team meetings. Staff were supported to gain qualifications and extend their role, for example, becoming an assistant practitioner and accessing nursing courses. Care staff were supported to be become medicine givers and received support and training. The manager and staff received training in equality and diversity this had ensured that any inequalities were identified and immediately actioned. Staff felt that they could approach the management team if they had changes in their life that impacted on their current role, and they would be listened to and supported. Any risks to the service, interruption to normal service and delivering of care were discussed with staff, people and families and an action plan put in place to ensure safe care delivery.

Staff told us the management team were approachable, supportive and promoted an inclusive work environment. They talked of how all the management team were approachable and knowledgeable. Staff said the teamwork was good and they all worked together to deliver the 'best care'. One staff member said that they had learnt a great deal in the past year under the new leadership. Other staff comments included, "The managers give good support." and "I love coming to work here."

The registered manager operated an open door policy and ensured that they spent time on the floor meeting people and staff. They had a good knowledge of all the staff and know their strengths and weaknesses. There were systems and processes in place to support staff development and progression within their roles. Staff talked of how they were supported to gain qualifications and extend their role, for example Care home assistant practitioners (CHAPS). Regular supervisions, spot checks, competencies and values-based supervisions took place. The provider’s senior management team visited the home regularly and provided support and supervision to the registered manager. The registered manager told us she attended organisational manager meetings which enabled learning across the organisation to be shared and relevant lessons learnt implemented within the home. The provider supported the registered manager and staff to attend external training, and meet with other providers and managers to network through various forums.

Staff told us they were confident to speak up about concerns and they had numerous opportunities to speak up if needed, at handovers, team meetings and supervision. Staff told us that felt able to raise concerns. One staff said, “I wouldn’t hesitate to raise concerns – we can do it anonymously if want to, but we are all here to protect our residents, the manager would definitely take things forward, we all want a safe home.” There were whistleblowing and safeguarding policies in place and staff understood both the responsibility they had to use them, and how to use them.

Staff told us that felt able to raise concerns. The provider and registered manager understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour. The Duty of Candour is to be open and honest when untoward events occur. We have received notifications as required. During our assessment we found that the management team were open and transparent. They admitted when things had gone wrong and demonstrated how they had used these to make improvements. Staff were supported and enabled to voice their views and concerns. They were aware of the whistle blowing policy but felt that they could raise them and be listened to. The provider had up-to-date whistleblowing policies and procedures which were in line with current guidance. People and their relatives confirmed they knew how to complain, and a copy of the complaints policy was available in the home and on the service website . Relatives told us; they would make a complaint if they needed to, but would talk to staff first. A record of complaints was held in the service. These included the information on the complaint and how this was responded to. We saw complaints had been responded to and actions taken as necessary.

The registered manager said that mental health and wellbeing were regularly discussed since the change of management to ensure staff felt supported through changes. The home was proud to be inclusive and supported both staff and people that used the service. The registered manager said the staff team was multicultural and everyone was respectful of each other. Staff felt they were treated as individuals and their needs were taken into consideration, such as shift times being arranged to fit in with family commitments.

The provider had procedures in place to promote staff well-being and worked to ensure flexible working conditions if required. There were robust measures in place to monitor, maintain and promote good mental well-being across the staff group. There was a formal recruitment process and equality, diversity and inclusion policy in place to guide equitable and fair recruitment and selection procedures. Staff were encouraged to undertake training in equality and diversity.

Staff told us, “As infection control lead, I do audits in both the kitchen and laundry,"and "There are medicine audits undertaken monthly, we also do daily checks." We spoke with three health professionals that work alongside staff at Southdowns Nursing Home. They told us, "Communication has improved over the past year, staff know their residents well and are grateful for advice and direction when they need it. They keep good records and that also helps us to treat appropriately," "Staff are good at contacting us when needed, they manage people well," and "Polite and welcoming, notes are always ready with latest input, making it easy to treat."

There were robust quality assurance and governance systems which had been used effectively to improve, sustain and consistently develop the service. The management team worked well as a team to ensure there was oversight and effective governance at the service. There were computerised systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. This included health and safety, accidents, incidents, complaints, medication management and staff documentation. Staff were knowledgeable and could tell us of safeguards put in to place to mitigate risk, such as 1-1 support, low level beds and sensor mats. We discussed individual peoples’ daily notes as they were minimal and did not reflect staff interaction and peoples’ mood. This had been identified through audits and was being monitored and staff were being given guidance on how to add this vital information to the computerised system. The leadership team engaged with local partners to ensure that they were kept up to date on best practice. One health care professional said, “ The care team work with us, they are proactive in asking for support when needed in a timely manner.” The manager demonstrated a good understanding of the regulatory requirements. Staff understood their role and responsibilities. They all had job descriptions, contracts and received support from the management team to ensure they had the necessary training.

Not everyone was able to share their experiences, but those that could told us, "Staff help me keep in touch with family and friends, I am waiting for a new wheelchair, but staff come in to see me and ensure I have all I need, " and "I'm going out today, its my time to go out." Relatives told us," They always include everyone in activities, some do not actively join in but they seem to enjoy being there, its always a good feeling in the communal lounges," and "The home has a social media page and there are always plenty of photos around what my relative and the other residents have been doing. I am always aware that social media is just a shop window to the world really- institutions can show one thing and do another; but my relative also talks about all the stuff they has been up to. She seems happy generally. In the pictures, she looks happy. She also gets taken out to places. My relative frequently isolated themselves before coming here, and i am not convinced her mobility would allow her to manage in my car any more, so i really appreciate her being taken on outings because i know this is what she needs; My relative loves to be creative too, again, there are a wide range of creative activities/ projects provided for the residents, and my relative gets encouraged to join in. I sense that residents have a voice in what is offered as the activities, while often linked to the turning of the year, reflect the interests of my relative and the other residents." We were also told by relatives that their loved ones had appropriate referrals to other health and social care professionals when required.

The registered manager told us how they worked with other healthcare professionals to ensure continuity of care. Health and social care professionals visited the home regularly and were able to assess people following their admission to the home from hospital or home. Staff had access to the tissue viability team, falls team, dieticians and other specialist services as necessary. Staff told us of how they monitored people and used risk assessments to ensure they requested referrals in a timely way. One staff member said, "We monitor skin daily and if we notice a change or deterioration we contact GP and they refer to the community tissue viability team, good communication is vital."

We spoke with three health professionals that work alongside staff at Southdowns Nursing Home. They told us, "Communication has improved over the past year, staff know their residents well and are grateful for advice and direction when they need it. They keep good records and that also helps us to treat appropriately," "Staff are good at contacting us when needed, they manage people well," and "Polite and welcoming, notes are always ready with latest input, making it easy to treat."

People received ongoing support from various external health and social care professionals who represented them. Staff and leaders understood their responsibilities to work in partnerships with external care professionals to ensure people received joined up care. There was evidence in the care plans and daily notes the provider had liaised with various health professionals to ensure safe care and treatment for people living in the service. The service was looking at arranging more trips out for people and with the return of a team member this will be happening in the near future.

Staff were happy with the level of training they received and felt confident to ask the registered manager if they needed any extra training. Staff said the management team encouraged them to complete local authority learning modules to increase their knowledge.

People and their relatives had opportunities to feedback their views about the service and quality of the care they received. People and relatives all described the staff and management of the service as open and approachable. Staff supported people to give feedback which they used to drive improvements and encourage learning from any incidents which occurred. The provider and registered manager had oversight of accidents and incidents. Trends and patterns were identified and addressed. For example, looking at skin tears or bruising and undertaking root cause analysis to prevent a re-occurrence. We saw example of lessons learnt following incidents which occurred within the service. Reflective meetings were held with staff to give opportunities to discuss development points to encourage improvement in practice. Learning was, where appropriate, also shared across the providers other services. The registered manager encouraged staff to speak up about positive ideas.