CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Welltower

The Sycamores

Victoria Street, Newton, Hyde, SK14 4DH

Requires improvementpublished 8 September 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the service was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The five questions inspectors ask

Safe?: Requires improvement; Medicines were not always stored or administered safely, including controlled drugs and thickening agents. Staffing, safeguarding, recruitment and most infection control arrangements were found to be safe.
Effective?: Good; People's needs were assessed and reviewed, staff were trained, and health, nutrition and cultural needs were supported. Inspectors recommended improvements to some environmental features, including corridor handrails.
Caring?: Good; Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. They supported people's choices, communication needs, privacy and independence.
Responsive?: Good; Care plans were personalised and kept up to date, and people and relatives felt able to raise concerns. Feedback about activities was mixed, with some people saying they were not consistently available.
Well-led?: Requires improvement; The home had open and approachable managers and worked well with health professionals. However, medicine audits and controlled drug checks were not always effective, and some staff supervisions were overdue.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, September 2023

Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind and effective care, but medicines were not always managed safely and leadership needed to improve.

Inspectors visited unannounced on 8 and 9 August 2023. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and health professionals. They reviewed care records, medicines records and management checks.

The home was caring, effective and responsive. Staff were described as kind and respectful. People had personalised care plans, their health needs were supported, and relatives felt able to raise concerns. Staffing levels were safe.

There were important problems with medicines, including storage, controlled drug records and medicine rounds. Parts of the environment were not suitable for everyone's needs, and activities were not always available to all residents. The home made some immediate improvements, but its overall rating was Requires Improvement.

What inspectors praised

Kind and respectful staff
People received compassionate care. Staff understood people's communication methods, used preferred names and respected cultural and religious preferences.
“People received kind and compassionate care from staff who used positive, respectful language which people understood and responded well to.” from the report
Safe staffing
Inspectors found enough staff on shift and said staffing levels and skills matched people's needs. Recruitment checks and induction arrangements were also suitable.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans included people's needs, preferences and communication requirements. People and relatives were involved in care planning and daily choices.
“The provider included people, and where appropriate, their relatives when assessments were completed.” from the report
Health and nutrition support
The home supported healthy choices, nutrition, cultural and religious needs at mealtimes, and worked with health professionals when concerns arose.
“Support records showed advice given by health professionals was acted upon, and staff were prompt in raising concerns or issues.” from the report

What inspectors were concerned about

Medicines safety
serious
Medicines were not always stored or administered safely. Problems included controlled drug records, thickening agents, medicine rounds, infection control and fridge temperature records.
“People's medicines were not always managed safely because medicines were not always kept safely or administered in a safe way.” from the report
Environmental safety
needs fixing
Some parts of the environment were not suitable for people living at the home. Inspectors were concerned about features that could affect safety and independence.
“However, handrails in corridors were not designed to reduce risk of entrapment.” from the report
Activities were uneven
minor
Activities were not consistently available to everyone. Relatives reported that one unit had fewer activities than areas downstairs.
“People and their relatives, felt activities were not always consistently available to all residents.” from the report
Management checks
needs fixing
Audits did not always identify or prevent medicine storage and controlled drug problems. Some staff supervisions were also overdue.
“The auditing systems for medicines were not always effective in monitoring the safety of medicines storage.” from the report

Questions to ask them, based on this report

01What has been done to make sure medicines, controlled drugs and thickening agents are stored and recorded safely?
02How are medicine fridge temperatures now checked and recorded each day?
03What changes have been made to the environment, including corridor handrails, to reduce risks and support independence?
04How will you make activities consistently available to people living on every unit?
05Have all overdue staff supervisions been completed, and how are management audits checked for effectiveness?

This was an unannounced first inspection covering all five CQC key questions and included the premises, care, medicines, records, staff practice and management systems. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 September 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of The Sycamores

4 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has improved, from Inadequate to Requires improvement.

September 2023Requires improvementcurrent rating
Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
Read what inspectors found at The Sycamores →
February 2022Inspected but not rated
Safe: Inspected but not rated
We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk
April 2020Goodstayed Good
Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
September 2017Goodup from Inadequate
Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
August 2017Inadequate
Safe: Requires improvementEffective: InadequateCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
August 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 27 August 2021.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.

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What inspectors found, September 2023

Kind and respectful staff

Safe staffing

Personalised care

Health and nutrition support

Medicines safety

Environmental safety

Activities were uneven

Management checks

Every inspection of The Sycamores

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