Sunnyfield Lodge was inspected on the 11 and 15 October 2018. The inspection was announced on both days. This was the service’s first inspection following registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in December 2017. The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Sunnyfield Lodge is a purpose built ‘extra care’ housing scheme consisting of 40 flats for adults 55 years old and over. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented, and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service. At the time of inspection 13 people were receiving a regulated activity from the service. Not everyone using Sunnyfield Lodge receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The house scheme has accessible communal areas. The housing provider arranges for lunches to be are served in the dining room at an extra charge. An accessible bathroom and treatment room is available. The housing scheme includes a shop, run by a local voluntary organisation.

The service provides planned care visits and a 24-hour emergency responder facility to those people living in the flats. The service had very recently started to provide care visits to people living in rural, hard to reach areas.

The service is registered to provide support for people with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health needs, older people, people with a physical disability and those with sensory impairment. At the time of inspection the majority of people receiving a service were older people.

Where services support people with learning disabilities or autism we expect them to be developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any other citizen. There were no people with a learning disability or autism using the service when we inspected. Therefore, we were unable to assess and monitor if the service was following this guidance.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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.

Staff supported people to be safe within the service. They responded to accidents and incidents and recorded details of the events. ‘Near miss’ forms did not always show the support people had received to reduce risks to their safety. Staff knew what potential signs of abuse to look for and how to raise their concerns.

Staff provided support with medicines according to individual’s needs and people received their medicines as required. Staff completed medicines training and their competency was regularly assessed. Topical medicine records and ‘When required’ medicines were not recorded in-line with best practice guidance. We made a recommendation about the recording of ‘when required’ medicines. The provider’s medicine policy was in the process of being updated.

The service worked closely with the housing provider to create a community atmosphere. The registered manager and housing estate manager were clear of their separate responsibilities. They worked closely to a