Sunny Bank PRS

Updated 22 March 2019

The inspection:

‘We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, 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 team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type: Sunny Bank Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Service providing personal care. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or 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:

The first day of the inspection was unannounced. We inspected the service on 06 and 07 February 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including notifications the service was required to send us about things happening in the home, information from other stakeholders, for example the local authority and information from members of the public. In addition, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. The information the service provided was highly detailed and helped support our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with several people living in the home (three in depth) two members of care staff, an administrator/care coordinator and one of the directors. We also reviewed care and medication records of four people, records of accidents, incidents and complaints, quality and maintenance checks and surveys conducted by the provider.

We observed interactions between staff and people living in the home and looked around the building.

Updated 22 March 2019

Sunny Bank PRS is a privately owned care home providing psychiatric rehabilitation services for up to 21 people with mental health needs. The service also provide day care services.

At our last inspection we rated the service Outstanding. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Outstanding and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

People’s experience of using this service:

At this inspection we saw the service continued to provide outstanding care overall. The provider and registered manager continued to use research based care and treatment to improve people’s recovery from a mental illness.

Two directors both took an active part in the day-to-day running of the home. One director was a registered occupational therapist and the other director was a registered mental health nurse (RMN) who specialised in behavioural management.

People who used this service continued to benefit from an outstanding effective and well-led service. The service consistently maintained good practice in the treatment of people with a mental health illness. People we spoke with all told us they could go and talk to the directors when they liked and had confidence that they would be listened to. People made comments such as, “The [directors’ name] is a hard worker and very good. You can talk to [name of director]” and “I have no concerns. I can talk to the managers if I do.”

People received an exceptional assessment tailored to their individual needs. The assessment lasted a minimum of six weeks and took account of people’s diverse backgrounds. One person going through the assessment was from an ethnic minority. We saw that through the assessment process the person could follow their religious and cultural needs in the way they wanted to.

Each person’s recovery program commenced during the assessment process. We saw that the service ensured they took as much personal details of a person, their background, likes and dislikes as they were able. This included daily living skills as well as the psychological and sociological aspects of the person and their behaviours. This information was used to develop a detailed care plan, which was tailored to meet people's needs and preferences.

The service followed a mental health recovery program and liaised with other organisations and professionals to aim for as much independence as possible for each person. If people recovered they had the option to move to supported living under the same organisation or to independent living. This ensured people could still receive some support if they wanted it.

We found that the directors and the registered manager had substantial knowledge about ways to help enable and support people to recover from mental health illness. They were highly proactive in ensuring that the service consistently maintained and sustained high standards in the best interests of the people who used the service.

We found that the directors and the registered manager worked together to deliver exceptional leadership within the home. They promoted a positive culture that embraced everyone connected with the service. Staff we spoke with told us, “My support is very good. There are always opportunities to talk to management” and “The owners are very good to work with. They have people’s best interests at heart. The providers go above and beyond getting what is right for people. They lead by example and inspire us. Nothing is too much trouble.”

Staff were well trained and encouraged to find training they wished to do which would also benefit people who used the service.

The service had achieved accreditation from several quality assurance schemes and were recognised as a good provider by local authorities.

The service provided exceptional support to people who used the service in respect of their life skills such as cooking. This helped promote independent living.

The service provided healthy living advice and supported people to go to colleges to improve their confidence or life skills.

The service had a strong sense of promoting social inclusion and people were supported to be active members of their communities. Staff understood the Equality Act and empowered people to explore their diversities whilst supporting them to maintain their own safety.

People’s diverse needs were considered in respect of their age, gender, sexuality and religion. This included the food they prepared and any religious needs a person wished to follow.

The service was warm, clean, well decorated, had no offensive odours and provided people with a homely environment.

Medicines administration remained safe.

Staff told us they had time to sit and talk to people. Staff also arranged and supported people to go on outings or attend appointments if required.

Some activities and outings were researched based to help the recovery of people with a mental health illness.

People' care was consistently personalised to their need. During our inspection, we found many

examples to demonstrate the staff and management team were passionate about providing an innovative and excellent service.

The service asked people who used the service, stakeholders and family members what they thought of the quality of service provided and acted on the views to improve the standards of care and support.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated as outstanding at the last inspection.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the service at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through information we receive and future inspections.