This inspection took place on 18 February 2016 and was unannounced. This was the first time the service had been inspected since the current provider was in place. The service was registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 20 people. People who used the service had physical health needs and/or were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 18 people were using the service.
The service had a registered manager. 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 treated with great kindness and compassion and they were very happy with the care they received. People were encouraged to make choices about their care and their privacy and dignity was respected by staff who had a passion to provide exceptional care.
People felt safe and staff knew how to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse. People’s risks were assessed and managed to help keep them safe and we saw that care was delivered in line with agreed plans.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. We saw that requests for support were responded to promptly by staff who had been checked to ensure they were suitable to work with the people who used the service. Medicines were safely managed, stored and administered to ensure that people got their medicines as prescribed.
Staff were suitably trained to meet people’s needs and were supported and supervised by the registered manager. Staff understood how to support people to make decisions and when they were unable to do this for themselves, support was provided in line with the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
People were provided with enough food and drink to maintain a healthy diet. People had choices about their food and drinks and there was flexibility to meet their preferences. People’s health was monitored and access to healthcare professionals was arranged when required.
People had support to meet their individual needs and preferences by staff who knew them well. Care plans were detailed and personal so that staff had the information they needed to be able to provide support to meet individual needs and requirements.
People knew how to complain and staff knew how to respond to complaints. A complaints procedure was in place although no formal complaints had been received.
The registered manager understood the conditions of registration with us. We saw that systems were in place to monitor quality and the registered manager analysed information and took actions to make improvements when required. There was a positive and homely atmosphere at the service and people felt the registered manager was approachable and responsive.