Sunflower Care

Updated 13 April 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 2 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager was also the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

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

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the support and care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior support staff and support staff. We received feedback from health and social care professionals who work with people living in the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included aspects of 4 people’s care records and 2 medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment processes. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance audits, training and meeting documents, were reviewed.

Updated 13 April 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Sunflower Care is registered as a domiciliary care agency who provide care and support to people living in 2 supported living properties. At the time of inspection 7 people lived in the services, and all received the regulated activity of personal care support.

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

Right Support:

Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests, set and pursue their goals and aspirations. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved good health outcomes.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face in all areas of their life including health and activities. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Culture:

People were supported by staff who understood good practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care tailored to their needs. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

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 the service was good (published 26 April 2017). Since then the provider made changes to their office address so this is the first inspection with those new registration details.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.