This inspection took place on the 22 February 2017 and was unannounced.

The service is registered to provide accommodation for up to 60 older people who require nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were 55 people staying there.

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.

There were not always sufficient enough staff to meet people’s needs in a safe and timely way. However, once this had been drawn to the registered manager’s attention they had been proactive and made changes to the deployment of staff and agreed to keep this under review.

People received care from staff that knew them well and were kind, compassionate and respectful. Their needs were assessed prior to coming to the home; care plans were person-centred and regularly reviewed.

There were appropriate recruitment processes in place which ensured that people were protected from being cared for by unsuitable staff and people felt safe in the home. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and knew how to respond if they had any concerns.

Staff were supported through regular supervisions and undertook training which helped them to understand the needs of the people they were supporting. People were involved in decisions about the way in which their care and support was provided. Staff understood the need to undertake specific assessments where people lacked capacity to consent to their care and / or their day to day routines. People’s health care and nutritional needs were carefully considered and acted upon. Appropriate health care professionals were appropriately involved in people’s care.

People were cared for by staff that were respectful of their dignity and that demonstrated an understanding of each person’s needs. This was evident in the way staff spoke with people and the activities they engaged in with individuals. Relatives spoke positively about the care their relative received and felt that they could approach management and staff to discuss any issues or concerns they had.

There were a range of audits in place and action was taken to address any shortfalls found. The registered manager was visible and open to feedback, actively looking at ways to improve the service.