Sonya Lodge Dementia Residential Care Home

Updated 12 February 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Sonya Lodge Dementia Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We received no feedback. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection, not everyone in the service was able to express their views about the care they received. However, we spoke to two people who were able to speak with us. We spoke with three relatives, two healthcare assistants, one senior healthcare assistant, the cook, two activities coordinators, visiting wellbeing staff, deputy manager and two operations managers. The registered manager was absent during this inspection. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records based on the history of the service. This included three people's care records and medicines records. We also looked at six staff files including their recruitment, supervision and training records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, quality assurance records and a variety of policies and procedures implemented by the provider. We also looked at other records the provider kept, such as meetings with people and surveys they completed to share their views.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received the training data and staff rota sent to us in a timely manner.

Updated 12 February 2020

About the service

Sonya Lodge Dementia Residential Care Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 37 people. At the time of the inspection, 34 people were living at the service with a range of health and support needs. These included; diabetes, epilepsy and dementia.

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

Our observation showed people were safe at Sonya Lodge. People appeared well care for by staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. The provider followed safe recruitment practices.

People received the support they needed to stay healthy and to access healthcare services. Each person had an up to date care plan, which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff. These were reviewed regularly.

Medicines were stored and managed safely by staff. There were policies and procedures in place for the safe administration of medicines, which staff followed. Staff training records confirmed staff had been trained in medicine administration and competency checks carried out.

People continued to receive care from staff who were well supported with induction and training. Staff received one to one supervision and annual appraisals. A member of staff said, “We have opportunity to bring up suggestions for improvement in the quality of care provided at supervisions. If it is a good idea, the registered manager makes changes.”

Staff understood the importance of promoting people’s choices and provided the support people required while promoting and maintaining independence. This enabled people to achieve positive outcomes and promoted a good quality of life.

The staff were caring and knew people, their preferences, likes and dislikes well. We observed people’s rights, their dignity and privacy were respected. Staff supported people with their lunch at a gentle pace whilst engaging with them. People continued to be supported to maintain a balanced diet and staff monitored their nutritional health.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We saw that people participated in activities, pursued their interests and maintained relationships with people that mattered to them.

People had end of life care plans which detailed what would make them felt well looked after and safe when they feel unwell.

The service was well led. Effective quality audits were in place and continuous improvement and learning were embedded in the service. The registered manager was open and transparent, and people, relatives, and staff felt involved in decisions about the service.

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 this service was requires improvement (Report published on 15 January 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.