Archived: Sunrise Operations Southbourne Limited

Updated 16 March 2016

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 14,15 and 16 October 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one CQC Manager and one CQC Inspector and a Specialist Nurse Advisor on 14 October 2015. A CQC Inspector and a Specialist Nurse Advisor on 15 October 2015 and a CQC Inspector, a Specialist Pharmacist Advisor and an Expert by Experience on 16 October 2015. An Expert by Experience is a member of the public who has experience of caring or working with people who have a diagnosis of dementia.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included information about incidents the provider had notified us of. We also asked the local authority who commissions the service for their views on the care and service given by the home.

During the three day inspection we met with all of the people living at the Reminiscence Neighbourhood, a specialist service for people living with dementia or enduring mental health conditions, and spoke with those that were able to. We also met and spoke with a selection of people who lived in the assisted living apartments within Sunrise Operations Southbourne Limited. We also spoke with the general manager, the registered manager, the head of Reminiscence Neighbourhood, the cook, the activities manager, a selection of care staff including senior care staff and activities co-ordinators and a domestic member of staff. During the inspection we spoke with four visiting relatives and following the inspection spoke with a further four relatives and requested the views of visiting health professionals and other professionals. We observed staff supporting people in communal areas and to eat meals. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific method of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We observed how people were supported and looked in depth at four people’s care, treatment and support records, a selection of other care records and reviewed a selection of medication administration records for both the assisted living and reminiscence neighbourhood areas of the home. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including staffing rota’s, staff recruitment and training records, activity schedules, premises maintenance records, a selection of the providers audits and policies, compliments and complaint records, completed quality assurance forms and staff and relative meeting minutes.

Updated 16 March 2016

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 14,15 and 16 October 2015. At the last inspection completed in June 2013 we found the provider had met all the regulations we reviewed.

Sunrise Operations Southbourne Limited is a purpose built care home comprising three floors providing accommodation, care and support for up to 102 older people, some of whom live independently and require little or no personal care. The service also provides a specialist service on the third floor, the reminiscence neighbourhood, for older people living with dementia or enduring mental health conditions. At the time of the inspection there were 96 people living at the home. There was a registered manager employed at the home. 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.

During our inspection visit the home had a lively and vibrant atmosphere with interesting, fun activities being available for people to join in with if they wished. There were also quieter areas for people to sit in which meant people had the opportunity to relax in a calm and homely area.

The premises were well maintained and sympathetically furnished to ensure people were able to sit down and rest throughout the home. The reminiscence neighbourhood was furnished and decorated to accommodate people living with dementia, with tactile wall coverings, clear signage, toilet doors painted in contrasting colours to enable people with dementia to distinguish toilet doors from bedroom doors, themed corridors for easy navigation around the premises and a homely, cosy atmosphere.

People and their relatives were full of praise about the care and support they were given at the home and everyone we spoke with told us they enjoyed living there. People told us they felt safe at the home. One person said, “A family friend recommended Sunrise Southbourne to us, and we haven’t looked back since, it’s marvellous”.

Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and free from harm. They spoke knowledgeably about how to prevent, identify and report abuse and the provider had systems in place to ensure that risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were identified and addressed.

People’s needs were assessed including areas of risk, and reviewed regularly to ensure people were kept safe. People were cared for with respect and dignity and their privacy was protected.

People received their prescribed medicine when they needed it and appropriate arrangements were in place for the administration, storage and disposal of medicines.

People told us there were always staff available to help them when they needed support and they were supported promptly by staff who were friendly and caring. Relatives told us they were always made to feel extremely welcome when visiting the home and said their relatives were very well cared for, comfortable and enjoyed living there.

There was a robust recruitment and selection procedure in place to ensure people were cared for, or supported by, sufficient numbers of highly motivated, suitably qualified and experienced staff. Staff spoke positively regarding the induction and training they received and commented they had felt well supported throughout their induction period. Staff told us they really enjoyed working at Sunrise Southbourne and found the support given by the management team was “Excellent”.

Staff spoke passionately about their roles and responsibilities and demonstrated interest in giving people the best possible care and support to meet their needs. Staff demonstrated a detailed understanding of how people liked to have their care needs met. They delivered safe, effective, person centred care to people in a friendly, professional and kind way.

Supervisions and appraisals were regularly completed with staff, were detailed, clearly written and gave staff the opportunity to comment on their performance and request further training and development opportunities if they wished. The provider had a range of staff incentive schemes to reward and encourage staff to attain their full potential. Staff told us they appreciated these schemes, one person told us, “It’s so nice to be appreciated, it makes such a difference”.

Equipment such as hoists and pressure relieving mattresses and cushions were readily available, clean and well maintained.

The manager was aware of their responsibilities in regard to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). These safeguards aim to protect people living in care homes and hospitals from being inappropriately deprived of their liberty. These safeguards can only be used when there is no other way of supporting a person safely.

People were supported and provided with an extensive choice of healthy food and drink ensuring their nutritional needs were met. Menus took into account people’s dietary needs and people told us they really enjoyed the food and could ask for different choices if they did not like what was on the menu. The provider ensured meal times were a pleasant and social experience for people and the dining areas were attractively laid out with table cloths, table decorations and attentive staff available to ensure people received the assistance they needed.

People knew how to make a complaint and felt confident they would be listened to if they needed to raise concerns or queries. There was a clear system in place for people to raise concerns and complaints.

There was an extensive schedule of daily activities for people to participate in if they wished. Activities were very well publicised throughout the service with an hourly schedule of activities taking place around the home. People who required assistance were supported to take trips to places of interest. The provider ran a mini bus three times a week to places of interest that people had asked to visit, such as Poole Pottery, garden centres and local parks.

People told us they felt the service was very well led, with a clear management structure in place with a visible, approachable management team that listened to them and the staff.

There were systems in place to monitor and drive continuous improvement in the quality of the service provided.