Sunkist Lodge

Updated 21 June 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 team consisted of one adult social care inspector and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type: This service is a care home. It provides accommodation and personal care to people living in the service on one site.

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:

We visited the service on 23 May 2019 and our inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

The registered manager sent us a provider information return (PIR). This is a document completed by the registered manager which contains information on how the service is developing and any planned improvements.

As part of the inspection we spoke with 11 people who used the service and two relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, the quality manager and three members of care staff. We also spoke with three external healthcare professionals who were visiting the service. We looked at three people’s care records and looked at three staff files including training and recruitment. We reviewed the service’s accidents and incidents, audits and complaints policies.

Updated 21 June 2019

About the service:

Sunkist Lodge ia a ‘care home’. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people living in the home. Sunkist Lodge provided care and support to people living with on-going mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, personality disorder or a history of substance and alcohol misuse.

People’s experience of using this service:

People who lived in Sunkist Lodge received person centred care and were supported by staff who knew them, their needs and their interests well. People spoke very highly of the care they received at Sunkist Lodge with comments including; “My life has changed since I am here”, “We are all lucky to live here” and “I would highly recommend this place.”

Staff involved people in every aspect of their care and enabled them to share their views and make choices. People were free to come and go as they pleased and encouraged to become active members in their local community.

People had personalised care plans which contained information about their support needs, how to minimise any risks, and goals they were working towards in order to become more independent.

Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and acted upon. People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. People made comments including; “They look after you and you feel safe” and “There is nothing to worry about here. I feel safe.” There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable.

People were supported by kind and caring staff who worked hard to promote their independence and sense of wellbeing. Staff were provided with the training, supervision and support they needed to care for people well.

People spoke highly of the food they were provided in Sunkist Lodge and the environment. Where necessary, specialist advice from healthcare professionals was sought. One healthcare professional said, “I feel confident they raise concerns where needed. People are definitely treated well here.”

People received their medicines as prescribed by they doctors in a safe way. People had access to activities, opportunities and stimulation to meet their needs.

There was strong leadership at the service. People, relatives, external healthcare professionals and staff spoke highly of the management team and there was a positive culture at the service with people and staff feeling their voices were listened to.

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.

More information is in the full report

Rating at last inspection: This service was rated good overall and in every key question except Effective which was rated requires improvement at the last inspection. The report was published 17 December 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on previous ratings.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about the service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated good. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.