Sunnyside Rest Home

Sunnyside Rest Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care to up to 7 people. The service provides support to younger people, older adults and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using the service. The care home accommodates people across one floor in one building.

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

Medicines records were not always complete and stock levels did not always match paperwork. Risks to people’s health and environmental risks were not always appropriately assessed. Staffing levels were adequate, but recruitment practices needed to be more robust. We have made a recommendation about this. The home was clean and tidy, but some infection control practices needed to be reviewed. We made recommendation around this. People were safeguarded from abuse.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; although the policies and systems in the service supported this practice, we found the necessary referrals to deprive people of their liberty was not always in place when people lacked capacity.

People's needs had not always been fully assessed. We made a recommendation about this. Staff supervisions were not happening in line with the provider’s policy. Staff had access to various training courses, however, we found that not all training was being completed in line policy. We made a recommendation about this. People were supported with their healthcare needs and received a balanced diet. Some adaptations had been made to the environment; however, further work could be done to improve this.

People's equality and diversity needs were respected, and staff received training in this area. Staff were seen to be kind and considerate in their interaction with people, and they supported people to be independent as possible. People were able to express their views.

Records relating to people’s care needs were not always as person centred as they should have been. People were able to make decisions. Feedback on activities was mixed, but people were supported to receive visits from loved ones. End of life training and paperwork needed to be improved/implemented. A complaints policy was in place, though the home had received no complaints. People’s communication needs were being considered.

Audits were not always robust, as they had not always identified the issues we found during our inspection and various records required reviewing. Although the service did not have a registered manager in post, the manager was in the process of registering. The service had a positive culture and staff worked in partnership with various other agencies and health professionals. The manager reported any necessary incidents, however, lessons learned were not consistently taking place. Although staff meetings were taking place, meetings for relatives and service users were not, though the manger told us relatives were kept up to date over the phone or when visiting.

In the areas where we identified concerns the manager told us they would look to make improvements.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 6 April 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to risk, medicines management, safeguarding people and governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.