About the service: Blythe House is a nursing home that provides personal and nursing care to 12 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ The home had safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures.

¿ Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs.

¿ Risks to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure people’s needs were safely met.

¿ People were receiving their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals.

¿ There were procedures in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infections.

¿ Assessments of people’s care and support needs were carried out before they moved into the home.

¿ Staff received training and support relevant to people’s needs.

¿ 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 support this practice.

¿ People were supported to maintain a balanced diet.

¿ Staff treated people in a caring and respectful manner.

¿ People were consulted about their care and support needs.

¿ People were supported to participate in activities that met their needs.

¿ End of life care and support was provided to people and their family members when required.

¿ People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.

¿ There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service.

¿ The home worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service.

¿ The provider took people and their relatives views into account through satisfaction surveys and meetings. Feedback from the surveys and meetings was used to improve on the service.

¿ Management support was always available for staff when they needed it.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published on 7 September 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the last inspection rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit in line with our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect the service sooner.

This inspection took place on 10 and 11 August 2016 and was unannounced. Blyth House provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 16 older people. At the time of our visit 16 people were living there. At our last inspection 29 July 2013 we found the provider was meeting the regulations in relation to the outcomes we inspected.

The home had a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People using the service said they felt safe and staff treated them well. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were enough staff on duty and deployed throughout the home to meet people’s care and support needs. Safeguarding adult’s procedures were in place and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported from abuse. There was a whistle-blowing procedure available and staff said they would use it if they needed to. People’s medicines were managed appropriately and people received their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals.

Staff had completed an induction when they started work and they were up to date with the provider’s mandatory training. The registered manager and staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and acted according to this legislation. There were appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that people were receiving the food and fluids as recorded in their care plans. People had access to a GP and other health care professionals when they needed them.

Staff treated people in a respectful and dignified manner and people’s privacy was respected. People using the service and their relatives, where appropriate, had been consulted about their care and support needs. The home had been awarded an accreditation by the Gold Standards Framework for the high standard of care provided to people in the final years of their lives.

Care plans and risk assessments provided guidance for staff on how to support people with their needs. There was a range of appropriate activities available for people to enjoy. People and their relatives knew about the home’s complaints procedure and said they were confident their complaints would be fully investigated and action taken if necessary.

Staff said they enjoyed working at the home and received good support from the registered manager. The provider sought the views of people using the service, relatives and staff through meetings and surveys. The registered manager used the feedback from the meetings and surveys to make improvements at the home.

People who used the service we spoke with told us they were happy with the service they received. People told us that the staff were excellent, and information was provided to help them to make an informed decision about their treatment. One person said: “nothing is too much trouble for the staff”, and another said: “the staff are marvellous and the home is lovely”.

People told us they were always treated in a respectful manner, and the staff knew them well and understood how to attend to their needs. Everyone we spoke with said that the staff explained what they were doing and involved them in decisions about their care. People said they were given choices about meals and activities and they felt safe and well cared for.

The staff understood how to keep people safe and the home was clean and well maintained. One person said: “there are never any unwanted smells and the home is clean and bright”.

The provider ensured that safe recruitment practices were adhered to in order to keep people safe. People understood their rights to make complaints or raise concerns and there were processes in place to manage these appropriately.

This inspection was part of a themed inspection programme to assess whether older people living in care homes are treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs were met.

The inspection team was led by a Compliance Inspector and also included a practicing professional. People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of the food and drink that was available. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Five of the people who use the service spoke with us. Some of the comments that people made were “this is a very good home”, the “matron is lovely”, “I settled in right away” and “I’m happy here.”

We spoke with a range of people who live at the home and with some relatives who were visiting. People we spoke to said they knew there was a care plan for them, and that we could examine it if we needed to as part of the inspection.

They said that they had been asked about their care needs when they were moving into the home, and that they knew they had a care plan showing staff what help they needed. They said that they were regularly asked about their care needs when their plan was being reviewed. One relative emphasised that the homes manager was easy to speak with and listened when she needed help. This relative said that the home was clean and bright and that the staff were friendly, and knew her mother’s care needs. Another relative said that her mum had been very active in her life, and felt that there could be more stimulating activities and exercise opportunities offered by the home. Relatives said they said they could visit the home at any time, day or night and were welcomed by staff.

All of the people we spoke to told us that they were confident in the home’s management, and that they felt they were safe and well cared for. They said that the staff were friendly, helpful and respectful, and that the food at the home was good. They told us that the staff knew how to support them, and that they could speak with the manager if they were worried about anything.

Overall, the feedback we received from people who lived at the home was very complimentary about the way staff respected their rights, and encouraged them to get involved in the running of their home.