Archived: The Sycamores

Updated 2 April 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

One inspector and an Expert by Experience completed this inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

The Sycamores 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.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch Tameside for any information they had about the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. Healthwatch did not have any concerns and the local authority comments were positive. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 19 people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, area manager, a manager supporting the service, four care staff and the cook. We reviewed some records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We looked at a variety of records related to management, including quality assurance audits and records of people’s views of the service. We observed staff interaction with the people they cared for. We toured the building and gardens.

Updated 2 April 2020

About the service

The Sycamores is registered to care for up to 60 elderly people in one adapted building. On the day of the inspection there were 47 people accommodated at the home.

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

The provider used their safeguarding policies and procedures to protect people from harm. The administration of medicines was safe. Staff were robustly recruited and the provider undertook all required environmental checks. Any risks to people were assessed to protect their health and welfare. .

People were supported to live healthy lives because they had access to professionals, a well-trained staff team and a choice of a nutritious diet. The service worked with other organisations to provide effective and consistent care. 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.

Staff were trained in equality and diversity and they respected people’s choices. Where people wanted, they could follow their religion of choice or maintain their relationships. People were treated as individuals which helped protect their dignity. People praised the caring attitude of staff.

We saw that the service responded to the needs of people by providing meaningful activities, having regularly reviewed plans of care and any concerns acted upon. Staff training enabled them to care for people at the end of their lives.

The registered manager attended meetings to discuss best practice topics and liaise with other organisations to improve the service. People who used the service and staff said managers were available and approachable. People who used the service, staff and relatives were able to air their views about how the service was run.

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 good (published 06/09/2017).

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.