Archived: Sunningdale

Sunningdale is a supported living service for people aged between 17 and 24 who have left residential care. The service aims to equip people with the knowledge and skills needed to live independently. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

Sunningdale is a new service which had been running for less than one year. The was an experienced and stable staff team in place. There registered manager had been in place since the service opened. 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 were risks to the safe care and treatment of people because accidents and incidents had not always been recorded. Some risk assessments which were needed had not been put in place and regular fire drills had not been carried out.

There was no evidence to suggest that staff had completed a thorough induction programme. Staff supervision had not been carried out in line with the service’s own policy.

There were gaps in care records and records relating to recruitment and the day to day running of the service. Records did not show if people were routinely involve in decision making.

Records did not show if complaints had been dealt with appropriately. Responses to complaints did not always address all of the key points and some responses to complaints were misleading.

On the first day of inspection, areas of the building potentially hazardous to people were accessible. On the second day of inspection, action had been taken and we were not able to enter areas where building work was being carried out.

Safeguarding alerts had been made and staff demonstrated competency in their knowledge of different types of abuse and the action they needed to take. All staff spoken with told us they wouldn’t hesitate to whistle blow [tell someone].

CQC had not been notified of all safeguarding alerts and incidents which had occurred at the service between 06 September 2015 and 29 February 2016. This will be dealt with outside of this inspection process.

Records did not show if people were always involved in decision making. However people told us they had choice about their care.

Care plans were in place however some gaps were identified.

Staff meetings had taken place. There was no evidence in place to show that people’s views had been sought prior to our inspection.

Each person had a personal emergency evacuation plan in place. This meant appropriate action could be taken by emergency teams.

Procedures were in place to recruitment new staff. There were enough staff on duty to provide care and support to people. Staffing levels and shift patterns were changed to meet the needs of people.

Staff supported people to order, collect and take their prescribed medicines. Staff encouraged people to seek regular support from their GP. People had regular support and involvement from a range of health and social care professionals. This contact was documented in people’s care records.

Certificates relating the health and safety of the service were up to date.

Staff had been supported to undertake a range of mandatory training and training specific to the needs of the people they provided care and support to.

Staff supported people with their nutrition and hydration which included menu planning, shopping and the preparation of food. Staff demonstrated the action they needed to take if people were at risk of malnutrition or dehydration.

People spoke positively about staff and the support which they received. We could see that staff were genuinely concerned about people’s well-being.

Staff supported people to maintain their own privacy and dignity.

Staff told us the service aimed to develop people’s confidence and independence by providing support with life skills with the aim of people moving into the local community.

The staff team in place told us they enjoyed working at the service and were committed to their role. They told us they felt supported by the registered manager.

We found three breaches in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to record keeping, notifications, supervision and appraisals, complaints, risk assessment, fire drills and accidents and incidents. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.