Sapphire House

Updated 15 December 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Sapphire is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced, although checks were completed prior to entry to ascertain COVID-19 status.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who lived in the service, the operations manager, registered manager and deputy manager. We reviewed two people’s care records and medicines records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, training data and quality assurance records.

We spoke with three relatives and five care staff. We also spoke with two health and social care professionals who knew the service to obtain their feedback.

Updated 15 December 2021

About the service

Sapphire House accommodates up to five people who have a learning disability or who are autistic, in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were three people living in the home.

Sapphire House had three ground floor bedrooms with en-suite facilities. In addition to this there were two self-contained annexes with a bathroom, bedroom, lounge and kitchenette. One annex was on the ground floor and one was on the first floor. There was a large communal lounge and conservatory with direct access to the garden areas.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Risks were identified and recorded so staff knew how to respond to these, in order to keep people safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and they were recruited safely. People received the medicines they required. The service was clean and tidy and staff were seen following good infection control practices.

Care plans were personalised and gave staff the information they needed to support people. The staff had worked with the local community learning disability team to develop positive behaviour support plans which ensured there was a person-centred approach to supporting people. Health care professionals’ input was accessed when required. Health care professionals spoken to said, the staff were good at keeping them up to date and sharing information for the benefit of the people living at the service.

The management team looked for ways to improve the service, including learning from incidents and events to know people better. They enhanced people’s lives by identifying their aspirations and encouraging and supporting them to achieve them.

Since the last inspection the management team had changed. As a result the governance arrangements in place to help monitor the service were in the process of being embedded.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of Safe and Well led, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• People were supported to access local shops, activities and amenities if they wanted to. Staff were observed to enable people to make day to day choices, including around food choices and things they wanted to do.

Right care:

• Staff understood people’s specific care needs and preferences and supported people in a person-centred way. People’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff enabled people to make choices about how they wished to be supported in any given activity. People had been supported to personalise their own rooms.

Right culture:

• The management team and staff showed commitment and respect to people whom they supported. They spoke with passion and knowledge about their role, central to which was to empower those whom they supported to live their best life possible.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was Inadequate (published 15 April 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sapphire House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.