Sycamore House

Updated 5 April 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team: The inspection was completed by one inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type: Sycamore House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care. 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 carried out on 8 February 2019. It was unannounced.

What we did: We used information we held about the home which included notifications that they sent us to plan this inspection. We also used the completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, the provider had completed this eleven months previously and we therefore gave opportunities for them to update us throughout the inspection.

We used a range of different methods to help us understand people’s experiences. We spoke with eight people who lived at the home about the support they received. As some of the people found verbal communication more difficult, we also observed the interaction between people and the staff who supported them in communal areas throughout the inspection visit.

We spoke with the provider, the registered manager, the deputy manager, three care staff and one domestic member of staff. We reviewed care plans for five people to check they were accurate and up to date. We also looked at medicines administration records and reviewed systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement. These included accidents and incidents analysis, meetings minutes and quality audits.

Updated 5 April 2019

About the service: Sycamore House is a residential care home that was providing personal care and support to people with mental health needs. They were registered to provide care for 28 people and there were 27 living at the home when we visited. The accommodation consists of two floors with shared communal areas on the ground floor.

People’s experience of using this service:

• The risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and action taken to reduce them. People were supported by staff who understood how to protect them from avoidable harm. There were enough staff deployed to keep people safe. People’s medicines were well managed and staff understood how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. There were systems to learn from mistakes including the detailed analysis of accidents and incidents.

• Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs well. People were provided with care and support which protected them from discrimination. They were supported to maintain a healthy diet and had access to other health and social care agencies when needed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The environment was adapted to meet people's needs.

• There were kind and caring relationships between people and staff which were based on dignity and respect. People felt involved with decisions and that staff respected their wishes. Staff had a good understanding of cultural and religious differences and provided support to meet these. Families were welcomed at any time.

• People had care and support provided which met their preferences. Complaints were handled appropriately and in line with the provider’s complaints policy. People did not currently receive end of life care but people had discussed their wishes with staff.

• Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt respected and valued. People could give their views about how the service could develop and improve. The provider’s quality assurance processes were effective in identifying potential risks to people’s safety. There was a continued focus on learning, development and improvement.

The home continued to meet the characteristics of a rating of good in all areas. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: The service was last inspected on 17 March 2016 and was rated good.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

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