This unannounced inspection took place on 30 May 2017. This was the first inspection of Croftside following the registration of the registered provider in October 2015.

Croftside is a residential home located in the village of Milnthorpe and is close to local amenities and services. The home provides accommodation on two floors for up to 34 people. The home has three units with the one on the ground floor providing care and support for people living with dementia. The first floor is accessible by a passenger lift and all the bedrooms are for single occupancy. At the time of our visit there were 24 people living in the home.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

The people who lived at Croftside made positive comments about their home and the staff who supported them. People told us “Everything is good” and “It’s a nice place”. People told us that they felt safe living there and that they were well cared for and looked after by the staff. They told us that staff were available to help them when they needed assistance and that staff respected their privacy. Everyone we spoke with praised the staff that supported them. During the inspection, we saw staff giving people their attention and offering reassurance. People also told us that the food was “Good” and “It’s jolly good food”.

People were able to see their friends and families as they wanted without restrictions on when friends and relatives could visit them. People were supported to follow their own interests, practice their religious beliefs and see their friends and families as they wanted.

The care plans and records that we looked at showed that people had been seen by appropriate professionals to help meet their particular physical, nursing and mental health needs. We saw that the assessment and management of risk had been reviewed and updated by staff so that people received appropriate support and treatment. We saw that where appropriate referrals had been made to other professionals such as physiotherapists and occupation therapists.

Medicines were being safely, administered and stored and we saw that accurate records were kept of medicines received and disposed of so all of them could be accounted for. Controlled medicines [those liable to misuse] records were in good order.

The environment of the home was relaxed and welcoming and we found that all areas used by the people living there were clean and smelt fresh. The communal areas had been decorated and arranged to make them homely and relaxing

There were safe recruitment procedures and practices in place to help ensure staff who were employed were suitable for their roles. All the staff we spoke with knew the appropriate action to take if they believed someone was at risk of abuse. This had been part of the training staff received to be able to carry out their roles. We saw that care staff had received induction training and on going training and development and had supervision once employed.

We found that there were adequate staff on duty during the day and at night and that a dependency assessment was being carried out to help keep staffing needs under review.

People knew how they could complain about the service they received and information on this was displayed in the home. People we spoke with were confident that action would be taken in response to any concerns they raised.

The service followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves. People were being supported to have choice and control of their lives and sta