30 Sunnyfield provides care for up to three people who have a learning disability. The service helps assist people to live fulfilling lives and to become more independent. There were three people living in the home when we visited. The home has three floors. There is a self-contained flat on the ground floor, a lounge and kitchen/dining area on the second floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom on the third floor. There is a garden to the rear of the property. The inspection took place on 12 June and 6 July 2017. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. We returned announced for a second day as two of the people who used the service were away on holiday on the first day.
An experienced registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
At the last inspection in November 2014 we rated the service as ‘Good’ overall, with the ‘Is the service responsive?’ domain rated as ‘Outstanding.’
At this inspection we found the ‘Is the service responsive’ domain maintained its ‘Outstanding’ rating. In addition, we found further outstanding practice relating to leadership and management, and also rated the ‘Is the service well led’ domain ‘Outstanding’. This meant we were able to rate the service as ‘Outstanding’ overall. We found strong evidence the service actively sought the views of people using the service through innovative methods, fully involving them in governance, quality and knowledge sharing. We found an extremely dedicated and knowledgeable management team committed to ensuring people were able to live as fulfilling lives as possible. Staff showed consistent attention to detail which meant people received an outstanding level of care and support that was completely centred on each individual’s needs. This promoted people’s health and wellbeing and enhanced their quality of life.
People said the standard of care and support was excellent and they were extremely well cared for. People spoke very highly about staff, the support they received and opportunities available to them. People had developed exceptionally strong relationships with staff, felt able to confide in them and saw them as role models. Staff including management knew people very well and consistently helped them achieve their dreams and aspirations.
The service fostering strong links with the local community. This empowered people to be involved in events and activities which took place in the local area. People were enabled to undertake voluntary work and encouraged to develop friendships with others. Due to the resources available and dedication of the staff team, people had access to an exceptional range of activities. These helped people achieve their dreams and build self-confidence.
The service was exceptional at helping people develop their independence through a series of well thought out goals. People were fully involved in the planning and setting of these goals. People’s achievements were celebrated by the service to help build further confidence.
There was a highly person centred culture within the service which ensured that people were put at the heart of everything. Staff were passionate about providing highly flexible care and support based on people’s preferences and preferred daily regimes.
People were involved to the maximum extent possible in their care and support arrangements. People were knowledgable about their plans of care, future goals and activities. People were encouraged and supported to be actively involved in the running of the service. People chaired meetings, attended internal and external events and disseminated learning and knowledge from these to staff and the other people they lived with.
The service worked well in partnership with other organisations to help ensure they kept up-to-date with best practice in learning disabilities care. People were also fully involved in this process. The service had contributed to best practice through developing a bespoke training tool.
Care planning was comprehensive and was subject to regular review, fully involving people in this process. Staff had a positive approach to risk taking and enabled people to live as full lives as possible yet understood how to balance this with people’s safety.
There were enough staff deployed to ensure people received safe care and regular supervision and support. Staff were recruited safely to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff received a range of training and support relevant to their role. This was continually developed to keep up to date with changes in best practice.
The service was acting within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were fully involved in decision making processes and capacity assessments were undertaken where staff had doubts over people’s understand.
Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and clear and detailed risk assessments put in place. Staff understood how to keep people safe and how to identify or raise any concerns.
The management team were highly visible and known to people who used the service. People and staff all said the service was well led and that morale was good within the service. A range of audits and checks were undertaken by management to help continuously improve the service. People had been involved in auditing, checking quality against Care Quality Commission standards. People’s feedback was regularly sought and used to help make improvements to the service.