We carried out an unannounced inspection of the service on 30 and 31 August 2017

Sycamore Lodge Nursing Home provides accommodation for people who require nursing care. There were 16 people with learning disabilities receiving care at the time of our visit. This was the first rated inspection of Sycamore lodge Nursing Home since they registered with CQC in February 2016.

There was 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 were kept safe and people’s families felt they were safe when staff provided care. People were supported by staff who could identify the different types of abuse and who to report concerns to. Assessments of the risks to people’s safety were in place and regularly reviewed.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified and experienced staff in place to keep people safe. Safe recruitment processes were in place.

People were protected from the risks associated with managing medicines. Processes in place ensured medicines were handled and administered safely.

People were supported by staff who received appropriate induction, training, supervision and a yearly appraisal. Staff were supported by management. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received the assistance they required to have enough to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.

People were encouraged to have positive caring relationships with staff and other people living in the home. People were treated with respect and dignity. The service supports people to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care, treatment and support. Information was available for people if they wished to speak with an independent advocate. People were supported to live as independently as possible.

People’s needs were assessed to determine if the service could meet their needs. People were encouraged to raise concerns or complaints if needed. The provider followed their procedures to ensure any complaints or concerns were dealt with in a timely manner.

The service promoted a positive culture. People appeared to be happy with the way the home was managed. Staff felt the registered manager was approachable and listened to their views or concerns. There were a number of quality assurance processes in place to assess the quality and effectiveness of the service, but not all the systems in place were robust or identified issues to ensure they would be addressed in a timely manner.

We have made a recommendation about the completion of robust action plans and systems to ensure the service follows up and checks issues have been resolved.