Archived: Sunrise Operations V.W. Limited

Updated 31 January 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 30 November 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of four inspectors and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is someone who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

Before the inspection, we reviewed records held by CQC which included notifications, complaints and any safeguarding concerns. A notification is information about important events which the registered person is required to send us by law. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing any potential areas of concern at the inspection. We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) before our inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

As part of our inspection we spoke individually with 13 people who lived at the home, four relatives,19 staff, including the registered manager and general manager. We also met with one external healthcare professional who regularly visited the service and agreed for their feedback to be included in this report. 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 also observed interactions between people and staff during the morning and afternoon on each unit. We joined people in the communal areas across the service at lunchtime to gain a view of the dining experience.

We reviewed a variety of documents which included the care plans for ten people, six staff files, medicines records and various other documentation relevant to the management of the home.

Updated 31 January 2017

Sunrise Operations V.W Limited is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 92 older people, some who may also be living with dementia. There were 68 people living in the home at the time of our inspection. The home is laid out over three floors, with one floor currently closed for refurbishment. The lower ground floor provided specialist support to people living with a dementia type illness.

The inspection took place on 30 November 2016 and was unannounced.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was last inspected on 4 February 2014, where we identified breaches in the regulations in relation to staffing and record keeping. Following that inspection, the provider wrote to us to tell us the action they had taken to address the concerns raised. This inspection found that the provider had made the improvements they told us they had and the previous requirements were therefore met. No new breaches of Regulations were identified as a result of this inspection.

Sunrise Virginia Water was well-led with good systems in place to provide support that was safe, effective, caring and responsive. The leadership team had fostered a positive and open culture where people, their representatives and staff were encouraged to express their ideas and thoughts. As such, the atmosphere within the service was relaxed, friendly and inclusive.

Each person was appropriately assessed and had an individualised plan of care which outlined how their needs would be met. People were involved at each stage of planning their care to ensure staff provided support in a way that met their needs, preferences and expectations.

There were systems in place to gain consent from people and staff understood the importance of involving people in their care and respecting their wishes. Not all staff however, were able to demonstrate they knew about the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and as the service provides support to a significant number of people living with dementia, this is an important area for the provider to further develop.

The service was well staffed by suitable and well trained individuals who were able to deliver support to people in a safe and effective way. Appropriate checks were undertaken when recruiting new staff to ensure only suitable staff were employed.

The service had overall good systems to identify and manage risks to people and to maintain the safety of the service as a whole. People were further protected from the risk of abuse or avoidable harm, because staff understood their role in safeguarding them.

Staff worked in partnership with other health care professionals to help keep people healthy and well. There were good systems in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

The provision of plentiful good quality meals and drinks and the monitoring of people at risk meant that people received appropriate nutrition and hydration. Furthermore, mealtimes were a sociable occasion which people enjoyed.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Support was provided with compassion and wherever possible people’s independence was promoted. People had choice and control over their lives and staff respected their privacy. Visitors were welcomed into the home at all times and people were encouraged to lead their lives as they wished.

The service offered an extensive range of activities and was constantly striving for new ways of engaging people and providing them with opportunities which were meaningful and interesting to them.

The management team continuously reviewed and monitored the quality and safety of the service and responded openly and proactively to any feedback received.