The Chantry

Updated 31 July 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Sue Ryder – The Chantry is a nursing home registered to accommodate up to 33 people who need nursing care and support with personal care.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection site activity took place on 10 and 13 May 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We also considered information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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.

During the inspection visit, we spoke with six people who used the service and six relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, head of care, head of support services, three qualified nurses, three members of care staff and the activities co-ordinator. We also spoke with three professionals supporting people at the service. We viewed six people’s care plans, nine medicine records and various audits and quality assurance reports. We also looked at the training matrix, safeguarding and complaints system and the recruitment process, as well as the fire safety evacuation system.

Updated 31 July 2019

About the service: Sue Ryder – The Chantry is a ‘nursing home’ providing personal and nursing care to people living at the service. People in nursing homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Sue Ryder – The Chantry can accommodate up to 33 people, there were 29 people using the service on the day of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

The staff were outstandingly responsive to the needs of people at the service, by providing a wide range of person-centred activities. Arrangements for social activities were innovative, met people's individual needs so people could live as full a life as possible. There were strong community links and people accessed the community regularly.

Since our last inspection, the service in response to identifying people’s assessed needs and working with the local hospital had developed a rehabilitation service. This meant as well as supporting people with long term needs, the service was supporting people with respite and rehabilitation from the local hospital as a step on the way to returning to their own home.

The staff were dedicated to providing a family orientated and a homely environment for people. Staff had developed strong relationships with people and knew them exceptionally well. People, their relatives and external health professionals overwhelmingly told us that the staff made them feel included and part of a large family.

There continued to be a positive, enabling culture to support people to live their lives as they desired. Staff continued to find innovate and creative ways of supporting people to overcome perceived limitations. This included the use of virtual reality so that people could use equipment to simulate experiences of the northern lights or being on a safari.

Staff knew people exceptionally well and delivered care and support in a way that met those needs and promoted equality. People and their families were involved in planning their lives, and the service ensured that care was always personalised to meet the needs of each individual living there.

The service continued to be outstandingly well-led. People told us they had trust in the managers and staff who frequently consulted with them and supported them to live their lives as they chose.

People continued to be consulted and were invited to be involved in the continuous planning of their care. People continued to organise residents committee meetings and work closely with the staff regarding the running of the service.

Continuous learning was embedded in the service culture and staff were caring and committed to providing individual person-centred care to each person.

The cohesive management team continued to demonstrate outstanding, strong values with a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service. The service continued to provide a sufficient skill mix of staff to support people.

The management team used effective systems to continually monitor the quality and safety of the service and take any necessary action as required. The senior staff continued to have a shared vision to care and support people to live as full a life as possible.

People’s care plans were sufficiently detailed including risk assessments for the staff to be able to provide care in line with people’s assessed needs and desires for how their care was to be delivered.

Staff continued to have extensive understanding of managing risks while supporting people to live their lives in a manner which promoted their independence. People were put at the centre of the support and staff having established how they wished to be treated supported people with those quests.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Appropriate arrangements were in place for obtaining, recording, administering and disposing of prescribed medicines.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff used positive communication techniques with people so that they felt listened to and valued according to their individual needs. People’s unique communication styles were understood and respected by staff.

People were supported by staff who were highly skilled, and knowledgeable in caring for people with complex needs. There were enough staff assigned to each shift to operate the named nurse and keyworker system designed to support people with their individual needs and staff supported people with a calm and empathic approach, that demonstrated their skills and confidence.

Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place to help ensure only suitable staff were employed. People living at the service were involved with the recruitment process.

The service ensured that care delivery was safe, with risks to people continually assessed to ensure both their home environment, and outings in the community were safe. The premises was well maintained and people had been consulted with regard to adaptations to the service.

Rating at last inspection:

At our last inspection on 2 November 2016 the service was rated good overall with the well-led question rated outstanding. The report was published on 14 December2018.

Why we inspected:

This inspection took place as part of our planned programme of inspections.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor this service according to our inspection schedule.

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