Dunmore is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 25 older people who may have a physical disability or who are living with dementia. Nursing care is not provided at the home. For those people who require nursing care, this is provided by the community nursing teams. At the time of the inspection 24 people were living in the home.

Although Dunmore had a change to their registration status in 2016, the home has been long established with the same owners and registered manager in place. 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 and relatives told us the home was very well managed. The registered manager, deputy manager and several of the staff had worked at the home for many years and they knew people well. People spoke positively about the registered manager. One person said, “Yes, she is very good. If you want to, just call for (registered manager’s name). She’s very caring”, and another said, “You can talk to her, definitely.” Throughout our inspection we saw people, their relatives and staff freely approached the registered manager to speak with them. The atmosphere in the home was friendly and we saw positive interactions between people using the service, their family and staff.

Staff told us they were well supported by the registered manager. Regular staff meetings and staff supervision and appraisals ensured staff were provided with information important in their role as well as ensuring their care practices were in line with the home’s procedures and the manager’s expectations.

People told us they felt safe living at Dunmore and commented, “Yes, perfectly alright. No trouble at all” and “I don’t have any worries. I am pleased to be somewhere safe.” Relatives also told us they felt their family members were safe at the home. Staff confirmed they had been provided with safeguarding adults training and they had an understanding of their responsibilities to protect people from harm. Staff were clear of the actions they would take if they suspected people were at risk of abuse.

People said there were enough staff on duty to meet their needs, however at busy times during the morning they sometimes had to wait a few minutes for staff to attend to them. No one said this had caused them any distress or caused any care needs to go unmet. People and staff confirmed routines were flexible and people could get up and go to bed when they wished. Robust systems were in place to ensure staff were recruited safely. Staff files contained the necessary pre-employment checks including references from previous employers and disclosure and barring service (police) checks. This ensured as far as possible, only suitable staff were employed at the home.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Medicines were being safely administered, stored and disposed of. Regular audits of medication administration records (MAR) were undertaken by the registered manager and the provider’s general manager to look for gaps or errors and to make sure safe procedures had been followed. Senior care staff with the responsibility to administer medicines had received training and had their competence to follow safe practices assessed by the registered manager.

Care plans showed risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed and staff were provided with information about how to minimise these risks. Assessments included the risk of falls, skin damage and poor nutrition and hydration, as well as those associated with healthcare conditions such as diabetes. Should an accident occur these were documented and reviewed by the registered manager to identify how the accident came about and what actions could be taken to reduce the