Sunlight House

Updated 5 January 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Sunlight House 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection took place on 13 December 2022 and was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with the registered manager, 2 care workers, 2 people using the service and 2 relatives. We reviewed a range of records, including 2 people’s care plans and risk records and 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. We also checked a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and quality assurance records.

Updated 5 January 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Sunlight House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 4 people with a primary diagnosis of learning disabilities and mild mental health needs. Sunlight House is on a residential street, with individual bedrooms, some with ensuite facilities and communal spaces. At the time of our inspection there were 3 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Some of the providers systems in place in relation to staff and residents meetings were informal. We have made a recommendation about this and will follow this up at the next planned inspection for the service.

Right Support:

The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. People were able to be independent and had control over their own lives. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms.

Right Care:

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives.

Right Culture:

Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 17 December 2018). The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good. We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support, right care and right culture.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We did not inspect the key questions of effective, caring and responsive.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sunlight House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.