Sunnyside Respite Service

Updated 6 July 2026

Our view of the service

About the service

Sunnyside Respite Service is a care home with nursing, registered to provide care and support for up to 15 people. The service is provided in two separate buildings. One building is used for respite care and can accommodate up to four people. The larger building supports people on a longer-term basis. On the first day of our assessment 12 people were using the service at the time of the inspection.

Who the service is for

This is a specialist service for people with a learning disability and autistic people. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence, and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We carried out this assessment from 31 July to 10 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People were supported by staff who were skilled and competent to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Staff were happy with the training they received. Staff were supported by the management team through supervisions and appraisals.

The provider had a process in place to safeguard people from risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding and knew how to act on concerns. The provider had a recruitment system in place to ensure appropriate staff were employed.

Staff were aware of how to keep people safe and risks to people and the environment had been managed. There was a culture of learning and improvement in the service. Lessons were identified from incidents, and learning was shared with members of staff.

People's needs were assessed before they moved into the home. The support they needed from staff was clearly recorded in their care plans. People's care plans recorded their preferences, likes and dislikes. This supported staff to provide person-centred care.

People received their medicines on time and as prescribed. The provider carried out checks on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work. Suitable infection control arrangements were in place.

The staff knew people well and were kind and caring. Staff planned and provided care to meet people's needs and to take account of their preferences. People were offered choices around their meals and maintained a well-balanced diet.

People received access to health care services when required. Various professionals were involved in providing healthcare to people.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

Policies and procedures in relation to the service and other information used to inform people using the service and staff about how it intended to operate had been reviewed regularly to ensure they were up to date.

There were systems in place to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the service. This included obtaining people's views and checking staff were following the correct procedures.

Updated 6 July 2026

We spoke with people and their relatives to gather their views of the service. We also carried out observations throughout the service to understand people's experiences where they were unable to communicate verbally with us.

People living at Sunnyside communicated in a variety of ways and indicated they felt safe. Family members and friends spoke positively about the standard of care and support people received.

People we spoke with said they were happy with the care and support provided, as well as the way the home and the respite service was run. They told us they felt they could speak openly with staff about anything, and they would be listened to. One person said, “I enjoy coming here It’s really relaxing and chilled, I get to do what I want.” Relatives told us they felt their family members were safe. Comments included, "Oh yes, they keep [relative] safe," and "[Relative] is definitely safe with staff. There's a regular team, and some of them [staff] have been there since the beginning."

People appeared relaxed and comfortable in the presence of staff, indicating positive and trusting relationships. Staff explained what they were doing, offered reassurance and used clear verbal prompts when supporting people with personal care.

Staff spoke warmly about the people they supported and demonstrated a good understanding of their individual needs, histories, preferences, interests and what was important to them. They clearly described the support people required and were confident care records contained accurate and up-to-date information reflecting people's current needs.

Relatives spoke positively about the stability and experience of the staff team. One relative said, "They have a very good core team, and some staff have been with the service since it first opened. Another said, "There's no high turnover of staff. The manager is good," and described the service as ‘well run’. One family member said, “I am very much involved in [relative's] reviews.”

Families were confident staff understood people's individual needs and responded appropriately to changes in their wellbeing. One relative said "Staff are very good at picking up on any changes in [relatives] health." However, 2 relatives raised concerns relating to communication and access to healthcare. We discussed these concerns with the registered manager, who took immediate action to address these concerns.

People's privacy, dignity and independence were maintained by staff who were caring and respectful and knew the people they supported very well.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives. Staff understood the importance of promoting independence and ensuring support was provided in the least restrictive way possible.

People were supported to make choices about their food and drink and were involved in planning, shopping for and preparing meals. People said they chose what they had to eat and confirmed they could have something not on the set menu if they preferred.

People were supported to participate in a range of activities both within the home and in the local community. Staff encouraged and enabled people to take part in activities that matched their interests and preferences. One person said, “I like coming here I get all the gossip and I go to the pub and for walks. Its great”

Relatives told us staff were approachable and easy to contact and said they had been provided with appropriate contact details should they need advice or support. People and their relatives felt confident raising concerns and believed they would be listened to and that appropriate action would be taken. People, relatives and friends said the registered manager was approachable, responsive and committed to maintaining high-quality care.