Archived: The Sycamores Nursing Home

Updated 12 April 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 registered 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 15 March 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector and an expert-by-experience who had experience of people living with mental illness. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

At the time of this inspection there were 15 people living at The Sycamores Nursing Home. We spoke with three people who used the service, one relative, two staff and the registered manager. We spent some time looking at documents and records that related to people’s care and support and the management of the service. We looked at two people’s support plans.

Before the inspection, the registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a document that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed all the information we held about the service. This included any statutory notifications that had been sent to us. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

Updated 12 April 2016

The inspection took place on 15 March 2016 and was unannounced. We carried out an inspection in June 2014, where we found the registered provider was meeting all the regulations we inspected.

The Sycamores Nursing Home is in two adjoining Victorian houses which have been converted to provide accommodation for 15 people with a mental health illness. It is situated in the Harehills area of Leeds close to the busy junction of Harehills Lane with Roundhay Road and a range of local amenities. There is a small garden and courtyard parking area to the rear of the building. The facilities are spread over four floors and there is no lift access.

At the time of the inspection, the service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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.

People told us they felt safe in the home and we saw there were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding vulnerable adults and knew what to do to keep people safe. People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the registered provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines safely.

We found people were cared for, or supported by, sufficient numbers of suitably qualified and experienced staff. Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place. Staff received the training required to meet people’s needs and had attended supervision meeting, however, these were not carried out in line with the registered provider’s policy.

Staff said people were supported to make decisions and where people did not have the capacity decisions had to be in their best interests. The registered manager told us there was no one living at the home that was subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisation.

People were provided with a choice of food and drink options ensuring their nutritional needs were met and people’s mental and physical healthcare needs were monitored as required which included appropriate referrals to health professionals when required.

There was opportunity for people to be involved in a range of activities within the home or the local community. People were able to choose how and where they spent their time.

People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. Staff had good relationships with the people living at the home. Staff knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity. People were supported to attend meetings where they could express their views about the home.

The service had good management and leadership. The management team investigated and responded to people’s complaints, according to the registered provider’s complaints procedure. People we spoke with did not raise any complaints or concerns about living at the home. There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided, however, action plans were not always up to date.