Sunny Mount (Knowle) Limited - 127 Longdon Road

Sunny Mount Knowle is a residential care home providing personal care to up to four people. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting four people.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. 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.

Right Support:

Staff understood people and their individual needs well. Staff provided kind, caring, person-centred care and support. People were supported by appropriate numbers of staff on each shift to ensure people's safety and meet their needs. People received care and support in an environment that was safe, clean and well maintained. People could express choice about all aspects of their life. People were supported to personalise their home so it reflected their choice of furnishings and items that were important to them.

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.

Right Care: People told us they felt supported by staff in a kind and caring way. People's differences were respected by staff and they had undertaken relevant training to effectively support people. People told us that the care they received was consistent and that staff knew them well. Staff encouraged people to regularly provide feedback about the care provided. Care records were person-centred and included information on how best to support people. The service was located in a residential street and there were no outward signs to differentiate it from neighbouring properties.

Right Culture: The registered manager promoted good quality care, and supported staff to further develop and improve their skills through supervision, training and effective team communication. People told us that the registered manager asked for feedback about what they enjoyed and if there were any changes they wanted to make to their care or to 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 good (published 13 April 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sunny Mount (Knowle) Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

The service was a small home. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people. People living at the home were also encouraged to develop friendships with the neighbours who they knew well.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. 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.

At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not gone down since our last inspection.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

People’s experience of using this service.

•People felt safe and were protected from avoidable harm by staff who understood how to keep them safe.

• Staff knew about the risks associated with people’s care and understood how to keep minimise risks to them.

• Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and understood how to prevent the spread of infection.

• People received care from a consistent team of staff understood their needs well.

• People’s needs were assessed to ensure they could be met by the service.

• Staff were recruited safely, and there were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs.

• Staff received on-going support and training to be effective in their roles.

• People made their own decisions about their care and were supported by staff who understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

• Where required, people were supported with their nutritional needs and to maintain their health and well-being.

• Staff respected people’s rights to privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.

• People received information about the service in a way they could understand.

• People were involved in planning and agreeing their care.

• Care plans contained the information and guidance staff needed to support people.

• Systems were in place to manage and respond to any complaints or concerns raised.

• The provider had systems for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service and implementing improvement where required.

At this inspection we found the service met the characteristics of a “Good” rating in all areas.

Rating at last inspection: At our last comprehensive inspection of this service in April 2016, we rated the service as 'Good'.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date and the rating of the previous inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

Sunnymount - 127 Longdon Road provides care and accommodation for up to four people with a diagnosis of a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. The communal areas of the home were on the ground floor, together with one bedroom. The rest of the bedrooms were on the first floor. Four people lived in the home at the time of our visit.

The home had a registered manager at the time of our inspection. 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 manager was supported by a care manager who was responsible for the daily running of the home.

The home had a friendly and ‘homely’ atmosphere and staff told us that they enjoyed working there. We saw staff were responsive to people's needs and had good knowledge of how people preferred their support to be provided.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe and well cared for at the home. There were enough suitably trained staff to keep people safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding and understood their responsibility to report any observed or suspected abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks associated with people’s care and support. Risk assessments and management plans were in place to manage the identified risks. Medicines were managed safely so people received their medication as prescribed.

People had the capacity to make all day to day decisions for themselves. The registered manager and the care manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure people were supported in a way that did not restrict their freedom.

Staff were kind and considerate to people. They respected and understood people's need for privacy and promoted their independence. People were involved in planning their daily activities and chose to pursue a variety of hobbies and interests at home and in their local community.

People chose what they would like to eat and drink and their nutritional needs were met. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being and staff knew when to refer to other health professionals.

People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint. A system was in place to manage complaints received about the service.

People were positive about the management team and the running of the service. Staff were encouraged to continue to develop their skills in health and social care. They told us they felt supported by the managers to carry out their roles effectively.

Staff, people, their relatives and staff were asked their opinions about the home and there were processes to monitor the quality of care provided.

People who lived at 127 Longdon Road were unable to express their views about the care they received. We saw they interacted positively with staff and appeared very comfortable and relaxed. At the time of our visit, one person was playing a game console game with a staff member and another person was getting ready to go out for a doctor's appointment. People were encouraged to make their own choices and decisions. The home was clean, tidy and well maintained.

Relatives told us: 'They provide excellent care.' And: 'They do so much with X. More than I ever could at home.' Staff said: 'The atmosphere here is wonderful.'

Staff told us staff cover was good and they planned a wide range of activities for people. We saw these had recently included a trip to the pantomime and football matches.

We visited the home without letting anyone know in advance. Two people who lived at the home were in. One person arrived home later from attending a day service. The fourth person who lived at the home was away visiting their family. There was one member of staff on duty. Another member of staff arrived later to go with one of the people who lived at the home to a football match.

After the inspection, we spoke with relatives of two people who lived at the home. They were generally very happy with the care and support provided by the home. 'Well run' and 'definitely happy' were two of the comments we had from relatives.

People were relaxed and comfortable in the house. They had lived there for many years. Staff told us that they had worked at the home for many years and knew the people who lived there well.

One person who lived there welcomed us and told us about their interests and their favourite football team. They told us the home was a good place to live and that they were happy to live there. One person told us it was 'a good home'. Another gave it 'top marks' and signalled with a smile and thumbs up.