Sussex House Care Home

Updated 14 October 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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

Sussex House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Sussex House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 25 May 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who use the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior care lead and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three peoples care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We reviewed a variety of records in relation to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 14 October 2022

About the service

Sussex House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 24 people. The service provides support to people who have mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service. Sussex House accommodates people in one building over three floors.

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

Medicine practices were not always in line with best practice guidelines.

People received the care and support, however, staff did not always have time or were not always able to respond to people’s presenting or changing needs.

A system was in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service, however this was not always effective in identifying and addressing issues.

People had support from safely recruited staff. Staff received training in safeguarding and understood their role and responsibilities to protect people from abuse. People and staff spoke positively about the management of the service. Staff continued to receive guidance and support from management when required.

Care plans included risk assessments for known risks and staff followed support plans to help keep people safe. Care plans were up to date, risk assessments were in place and regularly reviewed. People were regularly asked their views on the service provided and action had been taken when suggestions were made.

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.

The home was clean and tidy and additional cleaning processes had been implemented to prevent the risk of spread of infection.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 July 2019). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections

At the previous two inspections, we made recommendations the provider sought advice and improved their quality assurance systems. At this inspection, the provider had failed to take action and we continued to find concerns with the quality assurance systems. The auditing systems in place had failed to identify concerns with medicines, staffing and documentation.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to staffing, medicine management and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will also meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.