CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Sutton Lodge Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found enough suitable staff, robust recruitment checks, safe medicines systems and detailed assessments for risks such as falls, choking and skin breakdown. Infection control procedures were also in place.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs were assessed and care plans were individual to them. Staff had relevant training, people received support with food, drink and healthcare, and mental capacity requirements were followed.
- Caring?
- Good
- People had caring relationships with staff and were treated with dignity and respect. Inspectors saw staff promoting independence and involving people and relatives in decisions about care.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans contained detailed information about people's preferences and needs. The home provided activities, supported communication needs, managed complaints and had arrangements for end-of-life care.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a positive and open culture. Regular checks of care, medicines, staff records and other areas were used to identify and make improvements.
What inspectors found, February 2020
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care with effective management.
This was an unannounced planned inspection on 9 and 10 January 2020. One inspector spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and a professional. They checked care records, staff records, medicines records and other management records.
The inspectors rated all five areas Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. They found people were protected from abuse, received their medicines safely, and had detailed risk assessments. Staff were trained and there were enough staff to support people safely.
People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Their care reflected their needs and preferences, and they were supported to make choices. The management team had systems to check quality, learn from incidents and respond to feedback.
Personalised care
Care plans were detailed and reflected people's needs, wishes and preferences. People and relatives were involved in reviews where appropriate.
“People's needs were captured in care plans that were comprehensive and that contained detailed information about how people wished to receive their care and support.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors found caring relationships between people and staff. People were supported to make choices and remain as independent as possible.
“People had developed caring and meaningful relationships with staff.” from the report
Activities and relationships
Activities included arts and crafts, baking, bingo and exercise. Families were welcomed at themed events and social occasions.
“Families were welcome to join their loved ones.” from the report
Learning from incidents
The manager reviewed accidents and incidents to identify patterns and improvements. Changes were made after a person developed a pressure sore following a change of chair.
“The registered manager reviewed any accidents, incidents or concerns to identify lessons and improvements to people's care.” from the report
Open management
People, relatives and staff were able to give feedback in several ways. Inspectors found regular quality checks and an open culture.
“There was a caring and warm culture within the service with a clear drive to provide high quality care.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you assess and update my relative's risks, particularly around falls, choking or skin breakdown?
- 02How will you make sure my relative's care plan reflects their personal routines, preferences and choices?
- 03What activities and support would be available for my relative's interests, communication needs and relationships?
- 04How would you involve our family in care reviews and decisions if my relative could not make a particular decision?
- 05How would you support my relative and our family if they needed end-of-life care?
This was an unannounced planned inspection that looked at the overall quality of the service and all five CQC questions, including the premises and care provided; all five ratings remained Good from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 22 February 2020 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, June 2017
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and responsive care, with some staff meetings still needing to take place.
This was an announced inspection on 18 May 2017. Three inspectors visited the home. They spoke with seven people, one relative, the manager and nine staff. They also checked care records, medicines records, staff supervision records and management records.
The home was supporting 20 older people with residential, nursing and respite care. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines management and suitable checks on new staff. People were supported with food, drink, health care and decisions about their care.
People and relatives described staff as kind, respectful and approachable. Care plans included people's needs, choices and personal histories. Activities were available, including one-to-one support and outings, and complaints were acted on.
The overall rating was Good. Each of the five areas was also rated Good. This means inspectors found the service met the standards they checked, although the report noted that some staff had not recently had a meeting with their manager.
Enough staff
Inspectors found that staffing levels met people's needs and that requests for help were answered quickly.
“There were enough staff to support the needs of people.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives spoke positively about staff. Inspectors observed staff asking permission, protecting privacy and helping people with dignity.
“Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect.” from the report
Personalised care plans
Care plans recorded people's needs, routines, preferences and personal histories. Staff updated records when people's needs changed.
“The care plans we looked at contained meaningful information about people's social and personal histories, such as family trees.” from the report
Activities and inclusion
The home offered group activities, outings and individual support for people who did not attend group events or were too frail to do so.
“The activities co-ordinator told us they spent time on a one-to-one basis with people who did not enjoy group activities or were too frail to attend.” from the report
Improved management
Inspectors found that management support had improved since the previous inspection. Audits and improvement plans were being used to monitor the home.
“On this inspection this had improved and there was now a permanent manager in place.” from the report
Some staff meetings were overdue
needs fixingSome care staff had not recently met with their manager for supervision. The manager had given inspectors a plan for these meetings to take place.
“We saw that some care staff had not had a recent meeting with their manager however the registered manager provided us with a plan of when this were going to take place.” from the report
Evacuation could be difficult
needs fixingThe building was not purpose built and its layout could make it difficult to evacuate people in an emergency. Individual emergency evacuation plans were in place.
“The premises were not purpose built and the layout was such that it could present significant difficulties in evacuating people in the event of an emergency.” from the report
- 01How have you completed the staff supervision meetings that were outstanding at the inspection?
- 02What is the current plan for evacuating my relative safely, given the building layout?
- 03How will you support my relative's particular mobility, nutrition, medicines and health care needs?
- 04How are care plans reviewed when a person's needs or preferences change?
- 05What activities and one-to-one support would be available if my relative could not join group activities?
This was an announced inspection covering all five CQC questions; the report also records improvements since recommendations were made at the February 2016 inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 June 2017 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 Sutton Lodge Care Home
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 November 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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