CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Sunnyside House
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Learners said they felt safe. Risk assessments, safeguarding arrangements, staffing levels, recruitment checks and infection control were generally effective. Inspectors found minor problems with some PRN medicines records, which the manager addressed straight away.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs were assessed before admission and staff had the training and support needed for their roles. Learners received support with healthy eating, healthcare, communication and developing independence.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- Staff were exceptionally kind, compassionate and committed. Learners were treated as individuals, involved in decisions and supported with dignity, confidence and independence.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Care plans were highly personalised and focused on each learner's goals and aspirations. Staff adapted their approach, supported communication needs and helped learners maintain relationships, interests and community activities.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had approachable leadership, quality monitoring systems and an open culture. Inspectors noted that one new staff member had started before all recruitment checks were complete, and the manager took steps to prevent this happening again.
What inspectors found, November 2021
Sunnyside House rated Outstanding overall; inspectors found exceptionally caring and responsive support, with minor medicines and recruitment record issues.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 1 September and 27 September 2021. One inspector spoke with seven learners, seven staff, six relatives and health and social care professionals. Records, medicines, staffing, safeguarding, care plans and quality checks were also reviewed.
Inspectors found that learners were safe, supported by trained staff and given their medicines as prescribed. The home provided person-centred support to help people build confidence, develop life skills and move towards more independent living. Learners and relatives spoke very positively about the care.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. Caring and Responsive were Outstanding. Safe, Effective and Well-led were Good. The overall rating improved from Good at the previous inspection, published in February 2018.
Kind and respectful support
Staff built close, trusting relationships with learners and treated them as individuals. They supported dignity, confidence and independence in day-to-day care.
“Learners were supported by extremely highly motivated, kind, committed, compassionate and caring staff, whose aim was to ensure learner's rights to lead a fulfilling life as possible.” from the report
Strong focus on independence
The home helped learners set goals and develop practical skills for independent or supported living. This included support with finances, employment, education and moving into transition flats.
“A significant emphasis continued to be placed on providing person centred care to enable learners to set and achieve their goals to be as independent as they could be.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans reflected individual needs, preferences, goals and aspirations. Staff reviewed and adapted support when people's health or wellbeing changed.
“Learner's care plans were extremely person centred and tailored to meet their individual needs such as their goals and aspirations, what was important to them and how they would like support to be delivered.” from the report
Good involvement and communication
Learners were involved in decisions about their care and changes to the home. Staff used accessible information, pictures, large print and translation support where needed.
“Weekly meetings kept learners updated on what was happening in the service and be involved in giving feedback after meeting potential staff applicants, and proposed changes which would affect them.” from the report
PRN medicines records
needs fixingSome records for medicines given when needed did not include the correct spacing information or show whether the medicine had relieved pain. The manager acted on both issues straight away.
“The learner's paper medical record staff had recorded 'given', rather than if it had the desired pain relief.” from the report
Recruitment checks
needs fixingOne new staff member started work one day before all required recruitment checks were complete. The manager acknowledged this and sent an amended checklist to reduce the risk of it happening again.
“The service had not followed their usual recruitment policy, and started a new staff member, a day prior to having all their checks in place.” from the report
Family meetings
minorSome relatives said they missed the regular family meetings and felt less involved during the pandemic. The home had identified this feedback and restarted the quarterly meetings.
“Another relative told us they missed the meetings and felt, "A little bit left out now," in what was happening in the service, such as staff changes.” from the report
- 01How do you now check that PRN medicines records include the correct instructions and show whether the medicine worked?
- 02What checks must be completed before a new staff member starts, and how do you make sure this is followed every time?
- 03How often are family meetings held now, and how are relatives kept informed about staff changes and other developments?
- 04How will you measure my relative's progress towards their personal goals and greater independence?
- 05How would you support my relative's communication needs, including easy-read information, pictures or translation?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control; some inspection activity was completed remotely because of COVID-19. This explanation was written from the published report of 4 November 2021 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, February 2018
Sunnyside House: Rated Good overall; inspectors found highly personalised support, with Outstanding responsiveness and Good ratings in the other areas.
Inspectors carried out a comprehensive, announced inspection on 12 December 2017. They spoke with four people and five staff, and reviewed care plans, risk assessments, daily records, staffing information and quality checks.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led were all rated Good. Responsive was rated Outstanding, which means inspectors found exceptionally strong support for people's individual goals, choices and independence.
Inspectors found people were safe, supported by suitable staff and given their medicines as prescribed. Staff were described as kind and respectful, and people were helped to take part in hobbies, education, work opportunities and community activities.
The home used its My Life programme to help people develop everyday skills and move towards more independent living. Inspectors also found effective systems for complaints, staff training, feedback and monitoring the quality of care.
Personalised support
Care plans were tailored to people's goals, preferences and support needs. People and their families were actively involved in reviews.
“People received exceptional personalised care and support to enable them to achieve their goals and aspirations.” from the report
Building independence
The My Life programme helped people develop skills such as cooking, managing money, travelling and preparing for work or more independent housing.
“The final stage of the My Life programme involved people moving into one of the service's three training flats when they felt ready to.” from the report
Activities and opportunities
People were supported to follow their interests, attend courses, seek jobs, join local activities and maintain relationships.
“Staff provided excellent encouragement and support to people to enable them to engage and participate in a wide range of activities, job opportunities, hobbies and interests.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors observed positive relationships. Staff listened carefully, respected privacy and supported people in a thoughtful way.
“We saw staff interacting with people in a kind and thoughtful way, taking time to listen closely to what people were saying to them.” from the report
Safety and medicines
The home had systems for safeguarding, risk management, recruitment, infection control and medicines. Inspectors found people received medicines as prescribed.
“People received their medicines as prescribed and there were systems in place for the safe management of medicines.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you assess my relative's goals and decide whether the My Life programme is suitable for them?
- 02How often would my relative's care plan and personal goals be reviewed, and how would our family be involved?
- 03How would you support my relative to use the training flats or move on to more independent living when they are ready?
- 04How do you make sure staffing levels remain sufficient when staff are absent or people's support needs change?
- 05How would you support my relative's communication needs, particularly if they use pictures, writing or other accessible formats?
This was a comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, with the previous Good ratings retained for Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led and Responsive increased from Good to Outstanding. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 February 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Sunnyside House
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has improved, from Good to Outstanding.
- November 2021Outstandingcurrent ratingup from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- February 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- September 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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