Sunnycroft Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation, nursing and/or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 32 older people some of whom were living with physical health needs and dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people living at the home. The accommodation is split over two floors with a staircase and lift to the first floor bedrooms and bathrooms. There are two large lounges and separate dining room on the ground floor. There are extensive, private grounds providing outdoor seating and eating areas for people to use.

The inspection was unannounced and was carried out on 6 & 9 April 2018 by a lead inspector.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. 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 home is run.

People, relatives and staff expressed an extremely high level of satisfaction and confidence in the leadership and management of the service, rating it outstanding in the most recent survey. People received prompt advice and treatment from healthcare professionals who told us they would recommend the home, that staff were 'fantastic' and knew what they were doing.

The home was exceptionally well led. The provider and registered manager were passionate and committed to developing a service where people received genuinely person centred care. There was an relaxed, open and transparent culture within the home. Staff felt very well supported and valued and told us the registered manager was 'brilliant' and provided clear leadership and direction. All staff understood and embraced the values and vision of the provider and registered manager.

There was a culture of learning at Sunnycroft. Incident and accidents were investigated robustly, and any learning shared with the staff team to reduce the likelihood of a re-occurrence. Staff received a very good level of training, supervision and appraisal to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to deliver effective, person centred care. Staff consistently empowered people to maintain their independence and make decisions and choices about how to receive their care, and spend their time.

People’s needs were assessed before they moved into the home to ensure their needs could be met. Person centred care plans were drawn up with the involvement of people and their relatives and recorded in an electronic care planning system which provided a high level of detail and guidance for staff in how people wanted to receive their care. Reviews were carried out regularly with people and relatives to ensure care plans remained current and relevant to people's needs and wishes.

Activities were creative and innovative, and were developed according to people's interests and histories, and often had a purpose, enabling people to contribute to the life of the home. This gave people opportunities to socialise and a sense of purpose and fulfilment. Cultural, religious and national celebrations took place within the home and community. Community links were established, for example, during fundraising, which further increased opportunities for people to feel valued and part of the wider community.

The service supported people and their relatives to develop close relationships with each other and with care staff and we observed genuinely warm, friendly, relaxed and fun interactions during the inspection. The atmosphere in the home was vibrant and people clearly appreciated the happy environment.

Staff were exceptionally kind and caring to people and their relatives who told us ho

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 6 January 2016. We visited again on 15 January 2016 to complete the inspection. We had previously visited in September 2013 when we found the service complied with all the regulations we inspected.

Sunnycroft Residential Care Home is a care home without nursing. It is registered to provide accommodation care and support for up to 32 people, any number of whom could be living with dementia.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

We received positive feedback about the care and support provided from people who lived at Sunnycroft, from their relatives and from visiting professionals. A consistent view of the service was it provided caring support in a family like atmosphere.

People said they felt safe at Sunnycroft and there were appropriate processes in place to protect them from abuse, to minimise identified risks and to ensure people received their medicines safely.

There was a sufficient number of suitable staff deployed to meet people's needs..

Staff morale was good. Staff were well supported by management and had access to suitable training. Staff liaised appropriately with health care professionals and followed advice given to help to ensure people’s health needs were addressed. People liked the food and were provided with suitable foods to meet their dietary requirements and preferences.

The atmosphere throughout the home was friendly, calm and caring. The staff spoke about people in a respectful manner and demonstrated a good understanding of their individual needs. People were provided with choices regarding their daily routines with some people choosing to spend time in their rooms. Staff went out of their way to include everyone in activities if this was their wish and we saw people very much enjoyed the activities provided. There had been some adaptations to the environment to help people to remain as independent as possible.

People were confident they could raise concerns or complaints and that these would be dealt with. There was an open and inclusive culture within the service. The registered manager was approachable, accessible and welcomed and encouraged feedback. There were a range of systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service and to ensure people were receiving appropriate support.

We spoke with four people living at the home. They said that 'the food was lovely really good' and that they could have a cup of tea when ever they wanted. They told us staff were kind and would support them when needed. One person said "I am happy I made the decision to move and live here as the staff help a lot". When we spoke with three of the people they told us that they had no complaints about the service and the staff were very good. They said they did know how to complain but had not had any reason to. They could bring up any issues and were able to influence the running of the home in a variety of methods that included meetings with staff, general discussions and care plan reviews.

We observed that people received the care and support they needed. It was delivered in a way they preferred because staff took time and listened to them. We observed that people had positive relationships with the staff that supported them. The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives. One person told us: "It's quite good here and I can do a lot of things." Another person said: "I have no room for complaint about the food and the staff are always obliging." A visitor told us: "The staff always find time to talk to me and I am so grateful for how well they have looked after my relative."

We looked at care records for six people and saw they were current, regularly reviewed and fit for purpose. Care needs were clearly identified and care plans were clear for staff to follow. The provider had sought involvement of the people in their care plans and where they were unable to do this they identified the best interest of the person with relatives and professionals.

Medicines were ordered, stored and administered in accordance with the provider's policy. We observed medicines being administered and saw staff carried this out correctly and with respect for people receiving them.

We spoke with three staff who had all been working in the service for over two years. They all told us how well they had been supported by the manager and provider. A member of staff told us: "This is an amazing place to work and I love supporting the people."

We found the provider had a number of systems in place to obtain feedback from people about the quality of the service. Comments were listened to and the provider tried to act on them where appropriate.