Sycamore Cottage Rest Home Limited

Updated 19 October 2022

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection to check on concerns we had about medicines, infection control, equipment and a change in management of the service.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was complete by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Sycamore Cottage Rest Home Limited is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Sycamore Cottage Rest Home Limited is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

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. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The registered manager had left in June 2022 and needed to apply to CQC to de-register.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service, a relative, the provider’s external trainer and two visiting health care professionals. We also spoke with three care staff, a carer/cleaner, the deputy manager and the provider’s external consultant.

We spent time completing observations and checked the cleanliness of the service. We observed staff’s interactions with people and a medicine round. We reviewed people’s medicine administration records and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 19 October 2022

About the service

Sycamore Cottage Rest Home Limited (Sycamore Cottage) is a residential care home providing personal care to 15 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 20 people.

Accommodation was provided over two floors of a converted residential dwelling, with a stair lift that provided access to the second floor.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

An aspect of medicines administration required improvement, to ensure if a medicine was dropped during administration then it was disposed of immediately. The provider had already arranged medicines training for all staff and further relevant measures were taken during the inspection to reduce the risk of repetition.

There had been staffing issues and the provider was taking the correct action to address this for people. In the interim, the provider used regular agency staff to ensure there were enough staff to cover the staffing roster.

Potential risks to people were assessed and measures were in place to manage them. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and any learning from incidents and investigations were shared with staff.

Overall people were happy with the service they received, their feedback included; “yes they are very helpful” and “they are good in their services.”

The registered manager monitored the culture of the service and had a good understanding of the challenges and improvements required. They understood their role and responsibilities and were supported in their role. People and staff’s views on the service were sought. Processes were in place to enable the registered manager to monitor the service. The service had good links with key agencies such as the local authority and the clinical commissioning group.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 14 February 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to follow up on specific concerns which we had received about the service. The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines, staffing, falls and records. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We inspected and found there was a concern with an aspect of medicines administration, so we widened the scope of the inspection to become a focused inspection which included the key questions of safe and well-led. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements in the key question safe. Please see the key question safe section of this report.

No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this inspection and remains good.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements in the key question safe. Please see the key question safe section of this report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sycamore Cottage Rest Home Limited (Sycamore Cottage) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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