This inspection took place on 29 June and 3 July 2018 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since they registered with the CQC in September 2017. Baycroft Grays Farm Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Baycroft Grays Farm Road provides residential, nursing and dementia care and support for up to 75 older people. The service also offers short stay respite care. Accommodation is spread over three floors connected by internal lifts throughout. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people using the service. There was no registered manager in post at the time of our inspection, however, a general manager was in post to oversee the day to day management of the service until a registered manager is appointed. 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.

At this inspection we found three breaches of regulations because the management of medicines within the home was not always safe or in line with best practice, staff were not always supported in their roles through regular appropriate training, supervision or appraisals of their practice and performance and systems and processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not always effective or well-led. We also found several areas that required some improvement including the monitoring of safeguarding, accidents and incidents and complaints, staff deployment within the home and the provider’s nurse call system, areas of the environment and some improvement was required to enhance people’s meal time experience. We will check on the progress of these areas at our next inspection of the service.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

People were protected from the risk of abuse as staff we spoke with demonstrated a clear understanding of how to safeguard people from abuse, the signs they would look for and what they would do if they thought someone was at risk of abuse. Staff had identified concerns and recorded accidents and incidents appropriately seeking medical attention when required. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and there were systems in place to manage infection, clinical waste, gas and electrical appliances and water safety. Risks to people were assessed to help keep them safe and the home environment was clean and appropriately maintained.

Staff completed an induction programme which included induction training when they started work. People’s dietary needs, risks and personal preferences were met and respected. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s dietary needs and advice from health care professionals was sought when required. The home is newly built and suitably designed to meet some people’s needs. Pre-admission assessments of people’s individual care needs and preferences were completed before they moved into the home to ensure staff and the home environment could meet their needs safely and appropriately. People and their relatives told us staff supported them to access health and social care professionals when required and monitored their health to ensure their wellbeing. 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. Staff were aware of the importance of obtaining consent from people when o