Inspector praises care home for its '˜wonderful, kind' staff

The home was deemed to provide a ‘good’ care service following the unannounced inspection in March 2017.

Residents and relatives told inspectors the staff were wonderful, helpful and always willing to help. Residents were seen to be treated with dignity and respect, the report said.

Part of the Caring Homes Group, Southlands Place is a care home for up to 71 people with a wide range of varying needs, ranging from minimal support to those who have nursing needs and those living with dementia.

The Hastings Road home was judged as ‘good’ in four of the five assessed categories – safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and care – but was deemed to require improvement in the area of leadership.

The report stated: “People, relatives and staff told us there were insufficient staff deployed to consistently meet people’s needs. We found that the staffing levels had been an issue and this had been discussed at a recent resident and staff meeting. The area manager confirmed that there had been problems but with the recruitment of new staff the problem was in the process of being resolved. We found during the inspection that the staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.”

The inspector praised the handling of medication in the home, stating: “Medicines were stored, administered, recorded and disposed of safely and correctly. Staff were trained in the safe administration of medicines and kept relevant records that were accurate.”

People staying at Southlands Place are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves, the inspector found, giving people options to allow them to make informed decisions. Residents also praised the food they received and enjoyed their meal time.

Area manager Nigel Young, said: “At Caring Homes it is our aim to make every home just that – a caring home for our residents. The team here at Southlands Place are all incredibly proud of the care which we provide and obviously we are delighted to get a good overall rating in our latest inspection.”

For more details, visit www.caringhomes.org.

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