Sylvanhurst House

Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff knew the procedure and guidance to follow if something went wrong.

Risks relating to people's care were identified and staff knew how to manage these risks to help keep people safe but still encourage people's independence. Staff spoke to people about the risks they faced to help people understand how to keep safe. People's medicines were managed safely by staff.

There was enough staff to care for people and they received adequate training, induction and supervision to support them to do their jobs. The recruitment process ensured staff were suitable to work with people.

People's needs and preferences were assessed by the service before they began receiving care. People had a choice of food and planned their weekly menu. Staff encouraged people to make healthy choices when they needed to.

Staff promoted the healthcare needs of people and worked well with healthcare professionals, they took on board recommendations to help make sure individual health needs were met. Specialist dietary needs such as those associated with diabetes were provided for.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were encouraged to be as independent as they could be. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

People were supported to be involved in hobbies and activities that interested them. This included access to the community and involvement with clubs and outside social events when people wanted to.

People's care plans were sufficiently detailed to inform staff about people's needs and to guide staff in

caring for them.

The service had a complaints procedure which addressed any complaints within the agreed timescale. Systems were in place to make sure managers and staff learnt from events such as accidents, incidents and complaints. This reduced the risk to people and helped the service continually improve.

The service had a range of audits in place to assess, monitor and drive improvement.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found