Summon Bonum

Updated 18 April 2018

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 comprehensive inspection took place on 11 March 2018 and was unannounced. One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection. Prior to the inspection, we reviewed the information we had about the service, including notifications of events the service is required by law to send us.

Most people who lived in Summon Bonum were unable to talk to us about their experience of the service because they had communication difficulties. Where people were able to share their experiences with us we spent time speaking with them but where they were not we used the principles of SOFI to aid our observations. SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who are unable to talk to us. Due to people spending most of their time in different rooms and going about their day, it was not possible for us to conduct a complete SOFI but we did use the principles of SOFI when conducting all our observations around the home.

We looked around the home, spent time with people in the lounge the dining room and looked at people’s rooms with their permission. We observed how staff interacted with people throughout the inspection and spent time with people over the breakfast and lunchtime period. We spent time speaking with three people who were able to share some of their experiences with us and spent time observing all the other people who lived in the service being supported by staff. We spoke with one relative, three members of staff, the manager and the provider. We also received feedback from five external healthcare professionals.

We looked at the ways in which medicines were recorded, stored and administered to people. We also looked at the way in which meals were prepared and served. We reviewed in detail the care provided to three people, looking at their files and other records. We reviewed the recruitment files for three staff members and other records relating to the operation of the service, such as risk assessments, complaints, accidents and incidents, policies and procedures.

Updated 18 April 2018

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 11 March 2018 and was carried out by one adult social care inspector. We last inspected this home on 13 November 2015 when it was rated as ‘Good’ overall and in every key question.

Summon Bonum is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Summon Bonum is registered to accommodate up to nine people with learning disabilities and complex needs in one adapted building. Nursing care is not provided by staff at Summon Bonum. This is provided by the community nursing service. At the time of this inspection in March 2018 there were eight people living in the home.

Summon Bonum is owned by Mrs J Whitney. As the owner is not a company there is no requirement to register a manager of the service. Although Mrs Whitney is at the home on a regular basis, there is also a manager who takes day to day control of the home. We will refer to this person as ‘the manager’.

At our last inspection in November 2015 we rated the service good. At this inspection in March 2018 we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing 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.

Although the care service had been developed and designed prior to Building the Right Support and Registering the Right Support guidance being published, it followed these values and principles. These values related to people with learning disabilities using the service could live as ordinary a life as any citizen. They achieved this by promoting enablement, independence, choice and inclusion. They demonstrated how they delivered person-centred care and how they ensured people had easy access and include to the local community.

At the time of our inspection in March 2018 people living in Summon Bonum were living with learning disabilities along with varying physical and mental health needs. People had varying levels of need, with some people being able to leave the home independently and others requiring support to do so.

People who lived in Summon Bonum were protected from risks relating to possible abuse, relating to their needs and their health conditions. Staff knew how to recognise possible signs of abuse which also helped protect people Staff had assessed individual risks to people and had taken action to minimise these. Where accidents and incidents had taken place, these had been reviewed and action had been taken to reduce the risks of reoccurrence. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and staff competencies relating to the administration of medicines were regularly checked. Staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns.

Recruitment procedures were in place to help ensure only people of good character were employed by the home. Staff underwent Disclosure and Barring Service (police record) checks before they started work. Staffing numbers at the service were sufficient to meet people’s needs and provide them with two to one or one to one support where required. Staff had the competencies and information they required in order to meet people’s needs. Staff received sufficient training as well as regular supervision and appraisal.

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and put it into practice. Where people had been unable to make a particular decision at a particular time, their capacity had been assessed and best interests decisions had taken place and had been recorded. Where people were being deprived of their liberty for their own safety the registered manager had made Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) applications to the local authority.

Staff treated people with kindness and respect. People enjoyed pleasant interactions with staff which demonstrated people felt comfortable in their presence. Staff knew people’s preferences and communicated with people using their preferred methods of communication. We found staff had caring attitudes towards people and spoke highly of them, their personalities and qualities.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink in ways that met their needs and preferences. People were supported to make choices about what they wanted to eat and encouraged to help prepare meals where they were able.

There was open and effective management at Summon Bonum. The provider and manager led by example to ensure best practice was followed. People, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals were asked for their feedback and suggestions in order to improve the service. There were effective systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the care and support being delivered. One external healthcare professional said of the service: “We have always found Summon Bonum to be well led, easy to talk to, and provide consistently good care. We have always had positive feedback from individuals and family carers”.

Further information is in the detailed findings below