Archived: Sunrise of Bassett

Updated 17 October 2018

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 is 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 comprehensive inspection took place on 15 and 30 August 2018 and was unannounced. The gap between inspection dates was due to unforeseen circumstances where the planned second day of inspection needed to be rearranged. One inspector and two experts by experience carried out the first day of inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The experts for this inspection had experience caring for relatives living with dementia. One inspector carried out the second day of inspection.

Before the inspection, we ask providers to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. Due to technical difficulties, the provider was not requested to submit a PIR. However, we viewed this information during our inspection.

We reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications we had been sent by the provider. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

During the inspection, we spoke with 23 people or relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager and nine nursing, care or ancillary staff.

We looked at care plans and associated records for seven people and records relating to the management of the service. These included two staff recruitment files, records of complaints, accidents and incidents, and quality assurance records. We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas.

The home was last inspected in December 2016 where the service was rated good overall, but required improvement in safe.

Updated 17 October 2018

This inspection took place on 15 and 30 August 2018 and was unannounced.

Sunrise of Bassett is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This care home is run by two providers: Sunrise UK Operations Limited and Sunrise Senior Living Limited. These two providers have a dual registration and are jointly responsible for the services at the home. This report is in relation to Sunrise Senior Living Limited. A separate report has been produced for Sunrise UK Operations Limited.

Sunrise of Bassett accommodates up to 104 people in one adapted building over four floors. The first three floors were designated for ‘Assisted Living’, where people had a range of care needs but could carry out various aspects of daily living independently. The top floor was called the ‘Reminiscence Floor’, this had been designed as a living space suitable for people living with dementia. There were 69 people at the service at the time of inspection. People living at the service were older persons, some of whom were living with dementia.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and 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 changed since our last inspection.

The service had a registered manager in place 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.

There was a clear management structure in place. There were effective governance systems in place to monitor the quality of care. The registered manager oversaw a programme of audits and checks that ensured the home was safe and they had an insight into the day to day culture of the service.

The service worked in partnership with different stakeholders to contribute to many research studies relevant to people at the service. This included trialling new technologies which promoted people’s independence and piloting new approaches to effective care for people living with dementia. Some of these studies were either in their early stages or the technology was not continued after the initial trials, therefore, it was too early to evaluate whether these have resulted in beneficial outcomes for people.

People told us the registered manager was approachable and competent in their role. They felt confident that their concerns and feedback would be listened to.

The registered manager assessed and monitored staffing levels to ensure sufficient numbers were available to support people’s needs. Staff employed had gone through relevant recruitment checks which considered their skills, work experience and character. This helped to ensure they were suitable for their role.

There was mixed feedback about how effectively the call bell monitoring system was answered. The registered manager had met with people to discuss concerns and put processes in place to monitor how quickly call bells were attended to.

People told us that staff were friendly and treated them with dignity. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and understood how to provide personalised care.

Where people received care at the end of their lives, they were treated with compassion.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s care plans reflected their backgrounds, preferred routines and communication needs. The registered manager monitored care through an electronic monitoring system. This enabled them to quickly identify changes in people’s health to ensure appropriate medical advice was sought. The provider had established good working relationships with healthcare professionals including regular GP visits to the home.

The registered manager had worked hard to involve people in the running of the service, by setting up a variety of methods to gain people’s feedback. The registered manager was keen for people to be as involved as possible and had established links with the local community to provide resources and activities for people to participate in.

People told us there were a wide variety of activities available. People’s needs varied greatly at the service. This meant that some activities were organised specifically for people living with dementia.

There were systems in place to safely manage people’s medicines. The registered manager carried out audits and checks that were effective in identifying errors. When errors occurred, the registered manager took appropriate medical advice and supported staff to access training a to help ensure they possessed the necessary skills and knowledge.

Staff had access to a range of training relevant to their role with many undertaking additional qualifications in health and social care. Nursing staff were supported to maintain their professional registration and many had accessed additional training in areas such as end of life care. Staff’s ongoing learning and development was fostered through supervision, training and observation of working practice by the registered manager.

Risks relating to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed, monitored and mitigated. People’s needs were assessed using a range of nationally recognised assessment tools which helped to ensure appropriate care was put in place. Where risks were identified, plans were put in place to ensure people were safe. When incidents occurred or people’s needs changed, the provider ensured that there were processes in place to act quickly to ensure their safety was not compromised.

People were supported to stay safe from abuse or avoidable harm. The registered manager had informed CQC about significant events which occurred and referred concerns to local safeguarding teams when required.

People were supported to follow a diet in line with their preferences and dietary requirements. The provider had taken steps to ensure that people had input into the menu options available. Where people had specialists needs around nutrition, the provider had made adaptions to ensure people’s needs were met.

The home was a clean and hygienic environment and there were systems in place prevent the risk of infections spreading. The provider had made adaptions to the environment, with reference to creating an environment suitable for people living with dementia.