Archived: Sunnycroft Care Home

Updated 29 May 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 February 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was completed by three inspectors.

Before the inspection, we reviewed notifications that had been sent to us by the service. These are reports required by law, such as the death of people, safeguarding, accidents or injuries. We also contacted the local authority quality monitoring team to seek their views about the quality of the service provided.

During the course of the inspection we gathered information from a variety of sources. For example we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

The records we looked at included staff rotas, medication records, Mental Capacity Act assessments and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard applications plus the care records of nine people.

We also spoke with approximately 12 people, five visitors and nine staff, including care staff, chef, deputy manager and the registered manager. We also spoke with the provider.

Updated 29 May 2015

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 23 February 2015. The inspection was completed by three inspectors.

At our last inspection on 25 September 2014, we found that the service was in breach of Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. This was because the provider had inappropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines safely. The provider undertook to review and improve the way medicines were administered and recorded. During this inspection we found that the provider was meeting this legal requirement.

Sunnycroft is a nursing home that provides care for up to 59 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The people we spoke with told us that they felt safe living at this home. Staff understood about safeguarding vulnerable people from abuse and knew what action to take to keep people safe. Risk assessments in relation to people’s care, treatment and daily living were in place so that people’s care was adjusted when required.

People were cared for by staff who had the necessary skills to meet their needs. The number of staff were in accordance with the provider’s staffing level tool used to calculate how many staff were needed.

There were thorough recruitment processes in place that helped to ensure that only suitable staff were employed to care for vulnerable adults. This included checks on staff recruited from overseas.

People were cared for and supported by staff who were well trained, knowledgeable and experienced. Staff had access to training that was relevant to their role. Staff received regular supervision and annual appraisal.

Staff had received training about the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. They understood how this legislation affected the way they supported people and acted in their best interests. The mental capacity assessment tool needed to be improved to show whether the person had capacity to make decisions for themselves.

People received food and drink that met their needs. People at risk of malnutrition were supported to eat well and meals were fortified as required.

People were supported by kind, compassionate and considerate staff who encouraged people to be as independent as possible and who promoted their rights. Staff met people’s needs in an individualised, person-centred way.

Care plans provided sufficient information for staff to know how to support people. Care plans about end of life care and managing pain needed to be developed further. Where necessary, staff referred people to other health professionals in a timely way.

The views of people, their relatives and staff were sought. Staff felt valued because they were listened to and encouraged to be involved in the development of the quality of the service.