Sunnymede

Updated 5 March 2026

Date of assessment 23 April to 5 May 2026. Sunnymede is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 34 older people. At the time of our assessment there were 18 people using the service. The service no longer provides nursing care, although it remains registered as a nursing home. The registered manager told us the provider plans to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to update the registration details.

We carried out this assessment to follow up on a breach identified in the previous assessment and to check whether improvements had been made. We assessed the key questions Safe and Well led, along with aspects of Effective, focusing on how the service worked with health professionals to support people’s health. Improvements had been made in relation to safe recruitment of staff, and the service was no longer in breach of this regulation.

Overall, the service was safe. Systems were in place to identify, manage, and reduce risks to people. Risks were assessed, and care plans were clear and detailed about how people preferred to be supported with their personal care. Incidents were reported and learning took place to improve practice.

Governance systems were generally effective, although some areas, including record- keeping, required further strengthening.

Safeguarding systems were effective, and staff understood how to recognise and escalate concerns. People were supported to take their medicines safely and in a person-centred way. Staff received training to meet people’s needs and spoke positively about working at the service and the support provided by the manager.

Staffing levels were planned, to ensure peoples safety; however, they did not always support the consistent delivery of person-centred care. Feedback from people, relatives, and staff indicated that staff could feel under pressure at busy times, which may have affected how consistently people’s needs were met.

Health professionals spoke positively about the service and the registered manager.

We identified some infection prevention and control concerns on the first day of the assessment which were addressed promptly by staff.

Updated 5 March 2026

We spoke with people using the service and their relatives to understand their experiences of the care provided.

People told us, staff were lovely, however, they were busy and sometimes took a while to respond.

Overall, relatives told us they felt their loved ones were safe. Relatives spoke very positively about the service, with care, kindness, trust and leadership repeatedly described as key strengths. Relatives told us there had recently been some staff shortages. They said existing staff covered these gaps but expressed concerns about how this would be managed if vacancies could not be filled.

One relative said, “Generally I think the place is wonderful and it comes from the top. The manager and deputy are carers through and through and they ensure the care runs through everything from top to bottom.”

One relative raised concern about the physical environment and long-term investment. These included ongoing maintenance issues such as recurring leaks. The registered manager said they had experienced an issue with leaking drains which had now been dealt with. The registered manager also confirmed their plans for improvements to the environment.