Archived: Sunrise of Hale Barns

Sunrise of Hale Barns is a care home located in the county of Cheshire, close to Hale Barns village. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home is registered to provide accommodation and support for up to 95 older people some of whom are living with dementia.

The service, which is known as a 'community', is divided into two separate neighbourhoods, the 'assisted living' neighbourhood and the 'reminiscence' neighbourhood. The assisted living neighbourhood provides residential care for up to 60 older people. The reminiscence neighbourhood provides residential care and support for up to 35 older people living with dementia.

The reminiscence floor has a similar layout to those in assisted living which is situated on the ground and first floor. At the time of this inspection 57 people were living in the assisted living community and 28 people in the reminiscence community.

We last inspected the service on the 21 June 2017 and we rated the service as good. However, we rated the safe domain requires improvement, due to differing experiences we received regarding the response times from staff and we found call bells were not being monitored to improve people’s experiences when they required staff assistance.

At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall.

Why the service is rated good.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 registered manager and the deputy manager supported us during our inspection. They worked closely together and were involved in the running of the service along with senior staff. Therefore, we will refer to them as 'the management team' further in the report.

During the last inspection we found differing experiences regarding the response times from care staff. At this inspection we found significant progress had been made. We found call bells are now being monitored daily to identify any shortfalls and determine what action the home intended to make to improve people's experiences.

The provider introduced an electronic care planning system in April 2018. However, we found this system did not provide a clear falls risk assessment function. Although we were assured the management team had acted to reduce the risk of falls, we found this had not always been documented in people’s risk assessments or care plans. We have made a recommendation the home implements a risk assessment framework in relation to falls management, that clearly records the action taken by the management team.

We witnessed good cooperation and communication amongst staff, who were aware of their responsibilities. People who used the service were stimulated, and had bonded with the staff and formed friendship groups amongst themselves. The home conveyed a content and welcoming atmosphere where people felt at home.

The service was safe and people were protected from harm. Care workers were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults from abuse and knew what to do if they had any concerns and how to report them. Safeguarding training was given to all staff.

Care plans were based on the needs identified within the assessment, however we found people living with long term conditions such as dementia and diabetes did not a specific care plan in place, and therefore it did not reflect the current needs of these people. We have made a recommendation the service consults national best practice guidance for person-centred care and support planning.

Staff received induction and on-going training to enable them to meet the needs of people they supported effectively. Staff were supported by way of regular supervision, appraisal and access to management.

Effective systems were in place to ensure people's medicines were managed safely. Only trained staff were allowed to administer medicines.

People's rights were protected. The registered manager was knowledgeable about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were only deprived of their liberty if this had been authorised by the appropriate body or where applications had been made to do so.

People had access to a wide range of activities which were provided seven days a week and were well supported by staff to access the community and activities further afield.

People's healthcare needs were well managed by the service. Staff worked as part of multi-disciplinary teams to support people with a range of complex healthcare needs. People were very well supported to access external healthcare services as they required.

Systems to monitor key aspects of the service, obtain feedback on the standard of care provided and to respond to safeguarding concerns and complaints had also been established.

Quality assurance practices were robust and taking place regularly. There was good day to day management of the service. The management team were respected, visible and supportive to both staff and the people who used the service, ensuring standards of care were maintained.