Archived: Signature at Eastbourne

Updated 13 December 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 inspection took place on 11 and 16 July 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors and two experts by experience in dementia care and older peoples care. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection, we reviewed information available to us about this service. We requested that the provider complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This was received from the provider. We also checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider. This included previous inspection reports and statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send to us by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

We spoke with 21 people living at Sunrise and 14 staff members. This included the registered manager, the assisted living and reminiscence co-ordinators, care workers, registered nurses and kitchen staff. We also spoke with seven relatives and visitors. We also spoke to three healthcare professionals following the inspection. Not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences of living at Sunrise, therefore we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spent time looking at care records for seven people. We looked at the files of nine staff members and reviewed the records relating to areas such as the management of medicines, provision of training, safeguarding procedures, risk assessments, incidents and accidents quality assurance systems and complaints.

Updated 13 December 2018

The comprehensive inspection took place on 11 July 2018 and 16 July 2018 and was unannounced.

Sunrise of Eastbourne is a 'care home.' People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Sunrise Eastbourne is a purpose-built location and is registered to support and provide accommodation for up to 107 people. At the time of the inspection there were 90 people living at the home. Sunrise of Eastbourne provides care and support for older people with various needs such as dementia and nursing. Sunrise of Eastbourne is described as a community which is divided into two neighbourhoods. The care home accommodates people across two separate neighbourhoods, both of which have separate adapted facilities. The home includes the Assisted Living neighbourhood which provides care and nursing for people dependant on their level of need and the Reminiscence neighbourhood which specialises in providing care for people living with dementia.

Sunrise of Eastbourne was last inspected in December 2016. The service was rated as Good in the domains of Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led. The service received a rating of Outstanding in Caring. At the current inspection the services overall rating had improved to Outstanding. The current inspection was undertaken because of changes to the providers registration. The providers Sunrise UK Operations Ltd and Sunrise Senior Living Ltd are dual registered and are both jointly responsible for managing the regulated activities at the single location, Sunrise of Eastbourne.

Sunrise of Eastbourne had a registered manager who had been in post since January 2015. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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.

People received exceptionally effective care, based on best practice by staff with an in-depth knowledge of their care and treatment needs. People were supported by clinical governance process that looked continuously to explore areas of leading practice and drive improvements for people’s quality of life. The service looked for, and promoted, innovative approaches to the delivery of care and support. Staff had very good skills in managing and reducing risk and keeping people safe whilst promoting people to lead fulfilling lives and minimise restrictions on their freedom. People received their medicines safely and on time from staff who were trained and assessed to manage medicines safely.

People received high standards of kind and compassionate care. People and their relatives told us the staff were extremely caring, kind, attentive and dedicated in their approach, which was evident throughout the inspection. They commended the exceptional quality of the care they received. We observed one person’s comments which stated, “The care home that everyone would wish for their most beloved.” People’s dignity and independence was protected, and the provider had given significant consideration, and promotion to, people’s diversity.

The service promoted the use of care champions in areas such as dementia, falls, wound care and equality and diversity, amongst others, who actively supported staff to ensure people were cared for in a way that promoted their wellbeing. The management and staff were proactive in working in partnership with professionals to enhance people’s health and wellbeing as well as staff’s knowledge and skills. There was a strong and dedicated focus on training and continued development for staff. The provider was excellent in ensuring that staff applied their learning and training into practice to deliver person-centred care that met people’s individual needs.

Staff were encouraged and supported to continuously improve their practices through specialist training, developing leadership skills, and seeking out guidance and information on best practices within the care sector. Staff worked very well together to ensure continuity of care and spoke highly of the support staff across the service gave each other. Staff worked hard to establish and maintain a strong and visible person-centred culture.

People received high quality food from award winning catering staff that ensured that it was of the highest nutritional value to promote people’s physical wellbeing. People were offered an outstanding variety of options, while people who required additional support, such as those living with dementia or those with specialist dietary needs were supported using safe and creative methods.

People received a very responsive service. Staff went above and beyond to ensure people’s needs and wishes were at the centre of everything they did. There was an extensive and varied range of social activities and opportunities. People used up-to-date and care-focused technology to enhance their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. People’s care was very personalised and staff demonstrated an enthusiasm and responsibility to ensure that people’s individual needs and outcomes were met. Staff had individual roles and the service appointed a number of care champions who led on specific areas of support. The provider was extremely proactive in its supporting of people to engage and be involved. The provider had established outstanding links to other care organisations and partners, with local community groups and had initiated schemes that fully involved people at the service as well as engaging members of the public.

Staff were trained to be aware of signs of abuse and were encouraged to report concerns, which were investigated. A robust recruitment process was in place to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff. People knew how to raise concerns and were confident any concerns would be listened and responded to. Any concerns or complaints were investigated with actions identified to make improvements.

Staff were extremely knowledgeable about issues around consent and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff sought people's consent for their care and treatment and ensured they were supported to make as many decisions as possible. Where people lacked capacity, relatives, friends and relevant professionals were involved in best interest decision making.

The management of the service promoted an open culture and actively promoted inclusiveness amongst staff and people. The registered manager was passionate about driving improvement and demonstrated clear values and principles by which she ran the service. The provider and registered manager had implemented robust quality monitoring systems which they continually reviewed and evaluated to improve people's care. People received a consistently high standard of care because staff and management put people first and at the heart of the service. People, relatives and professionals spoke highly around the exceptional quality of care.