Sonning Gardens Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice

The service ensured that visitors to the home were carefully screened so that they did not present a risk to people in the home. Visitors were asked to undertake a Rapid Lateral Flow test and were required to wait for the results before entering the building. Their temperatures were also checked at the door. Personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks and aprons were provided for visitors before entering the home.

Staff had undertaken training in putting on and taking off PPE, hand hygiene and other Covid-19 related training. Additional cleaning of all areas and frequent touch surfaces was being carried out. Information was displayed throughout the home to remind staff what PPE they needed to use and to wash their hands.

Social distancing was observed. This was aimed at preventing and controlling the spread of infection. The provider continuously passed on important information about Covid-19 to staff. Staff had a good understanding of infection prevention and control measures.

Staff supported people's emotional and social wellbeing. Activities had been planned within the home to positively support people through a period of extreme change to their routines.

Infection control audits and checks were carried out. The registered manager spoke positively about the commitment and dedication staff had shown, which had helped to minimise the impact of the pandemic on people's health and wellbeing.

Sunrise of Sonning is a care home with nursing. The service provides nursing and personal care for up to 103 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care and support to 87 people. The accommodation is arranged over three floors. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 registered manager and the deputy manager supported us during our inspection. They worked closely together and were involved in the running of the service along with senior staff. Therefore, we will refer to them as ‘the management team’ further in the report.

The service had clear and effective governance, management and accountability arrangements. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities, were motivated, and had confidence in their management and senior staff team. Moreover, they were supportive of each other to ensure people received excellent care. The management team placed a great importance on ensuring everybody was treated as an individual and giving them person-centred care. They have worked hard and had established a strong and visible person centred culture. The service built and took a key role in the local community being actively involved in finding and building further links. They encouraged and sustained contacts with other resources and support groups. These links reflected changing needs and preferences of the people who use the service.

The staff and management teams showed a genuine and in-depth understanding and compassion for people they supported. They had a number of schemes and initiatives in place driving improvement and continuously encouraging innovation to benefit people in the service. The staff team always tried to enable people to express their own views ensuring people received the care they needed and wanted. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible. The management and staff team monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. The service had dedicated champions called ‘link nurses’ for different areas of speciality such as tissue viability, Parkinson’s and falls to effectively support people’s health and wellbeing. They were constantly researching for creative and innovative ways to ensure people lived their lives to the full. The whole staff team were very responsive to the needs of the people and enabled them to improve and enjoy their life.

People were able to engage in a wide range of meaningful activities and maintain regular links with the community. This helped them avoid becoming isolated. People really enjoyed getting involved in activities and outings because it made them feel busy and useful. People could also spend time with their visitors or occupying themselves if they wished to. Their choices were always respected by attentive and understanding staff. We observed staff were positive, respectful and considerate of people and their relatives. It was paramount to the service to ensure people's wellbeing was respected and protected. People and relatives confirmed staff always respected their privacy and dignity. People benefitted greatly from living at a service that had a very open and welcoming culture.

The management team spoke with great passion about the care and support they provided to people and their families. They worked hard to ensure this was also shared well to the staff team. There was a great atmosphere in the service filled with lots of enthusiasm, laughter and friendliness. The management team encouraged staff to go the 'extra mile' when supporting people. Staff were motivated to provide care with kindness and consideration. People and their families felt they mattered to the whole staff team.

People felt safe while supported by the staff. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these to keep people safe. The management and staff team recognised, reviewed and explored better ways of working when things went wrong.

Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory. The management team had planned and booked training when necessary to ensure all staff had the appropriate knowledge to support people. Staff had ongoing support via regular supervisions and daily communications. They felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff, which helped maintain great team work.

The registered manager ensured there were enough qualified, skilled and knowledgeable staff to meet people's needs at all times. Staff were knowledgeable and focused on following best practice at the service making sure people received high quality care and support. The service had an appropriate recruitment procedure to follow before new staff were employed to work with people. They checked to ensure staff were of good character and suitable for their role.

The service assessed risks to people's personal safety, as well as those to staff and visitors, and actions were taken to minimise those risks. There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required. There were contingency plans in place to respond to emergencies.

People received support that was individualised to their specific needs. Their needs and support plans were kept under review and promptly amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights were promoted.

The management team had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the service and the quality of the service being delivered. They were able to identify issues and any improvements necessary, and took actions promptly to address them. They praised the staff team for their dedication and hard work and appreciated their contribution in ensuring people received the best care and support.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.