Sutton in the Elms

Updated 16 March 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 20 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 16 March 2022

About the service

Sutton in the Elms is a 42-bedded residential care and nursing home. It specialises in the care of older and younger people who have needs relating to dementia, mental health, physical disability, and sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people using the service.

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

People using the service received person-centred care from a skilled, caring and well-led staff team. A relative said, “The care is very centred on the individual, which is no mean feat.” The service was well-staffed, and people’s needs were promptly met.

People and relatives made many positive comments about the staff team and gave examples of their dedication to the people they supported. A relative said, “They give off an air of wanting to be there and do what they are doing. They are fantastic, always kind, always calm.”

The premises were spacious, well-decorated, and clean. People had access to a range of indoor and outdoor communal areas and gardens. People’s own bedrooms were personalised in the way they wanted them.

People’s needs were assessed before they came to the service and staff put care plans and risk assessments in place to ensure people had safe care and support. The service’s nurses and care workers, in collaboration with external healthcare professionals, identified and met people’s healthcare needs.

People and relatives said the service’s activity co-ordinators provided an impressive range of group and one-to-one activities and events. A relative told us, “They had a summer of love day and dressed up as hippies and had a lot of fun. We were sent pictures of [family member] having a great time."

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and care manager who they said listened to them and acted on their ideas and suggestions.

The provider was committed to delivering high-quality care and had systems in place to monitor all aspects of the service. Managers and staff were continuously learning, developing and shaping the service with the involvement of people and relatives.

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

Why we inspected

Sutton in the Elms was registered with us on 15 January 2020 and this was our first inspection of the service.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.