This inspection took place on 20 and 22 July 2016 and was unannounced. Goodwins Hall Care Home is a care home providing personal care and nursing for up to 75 people, some who live with dementia. On the day of our visit 70 people were living at the service.

The home has had the current registered manager in post since January 2011. 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.

Staff were aware of safeguarding people from the risk of abuse and they knew how to report concerns to the relevant agencies. Individual risks to people were assessed by staff and reduced or removed. There was adequate servicing and maintenance checks to fire equipment and systems in the home to ensure people’s safety.

People felt safe living at the home and staff supported them in a way that they preferred. There were usually enough staff available to meet people’s needs and action was taken to obtain additional staff when there were sudden shortages. The deployment of staff at some times meant that people sometimes had to wait. Most recruitment checks for new staff members had been obtained before new staff members started work but more action was needed if information was not available.

Although medicines were securely stored, temperature checks of storage areas had not been taken, which put the effectiveness of medicines at risk. Medicines were safely administered, and staff members who administered medicines had been trained to do so. Staff members received other training, which provided them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles. Staff received adequate support from the registered manager and senior staff, which they found helpful.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. The service was meeting the requirements of DoLS. The registered manager had acted on the requirements of the safeguards to ensure that people were protected. Staff members understood the MCA and presumed people had the capacity to make decisions first. Where someone lacked capacity, best interest decisions had been made.

People enjoyed their meals and were able to choose what they ate and drank. Staff members worked together with health professionals in the community to ensure suitable health provision was in place for people.

Most staff were caring, kind, respectful and courteous. Staff members knew people well, what they liked and how they wanted to be treated. People’s needs were responded to well and support was always available. Most care plans contained information to support individual people with their needs. They did not always provide staff with enough guidance about behaviour that may challenge or upset others. People’s relatives said that people were happy at the home and that they were able to be as independent as possible.

A complaints procedure was available and people were happy that they did not need to make a complaint. The manager was supportive and approachable, and people or other staff members could speak with her at any time.

The provider monitored care and other records to assess the risks to people and ensure that these were reduced as much as possible and to improve the quality of the care provided.

We looked at care plans that clearly explained how a person living in the home preferred to be supported. We saw information about the choices that people using the service had made, showing people were fully consulted at every stage of their care. People living in the home told us that their needs were met and staff were always very helpful.

There were policies and procedures in place to ensure staff knew how to recognise and report any safeguarding issues. People living in the home were also provided with information of how to report any suspected abuse. We saw that policies, procedures and appropriate practices were in place for the safe storage and administration of medications. This ensured the safety and wellbeing of people living in the home.

Staff received training and supervision on a regular basis and staff told us they felt fully supported by the manager at all times. This ensured that staff had the relevant training to meet the needs of people and that the manager was aware of any areas that needed strengthening. People living in the home told us they thought staff knew their job and how to provide any assistance in an appropriate way.

We saw records that showed us a quality audit was regularly undertaken by the organisation to monitor the quality of the service that was being provided. There were also monitoring systems in the home that informed the development of new processes.

People that we spoke with during our inspection visit on 20 March 2013 were positive and satisfied with the care and support they received whilst living in the home. They made comments such as; “The staff are very kind and help me during the day.” People felt that they could talk to the manager and staff whenever they wanted to sort out any concerns.

Care and support was being regularly reviewed to ensure that peoples’ needs were being met. There was evidence of people’s involvement in the planning of their care and support.

There were safeguarding policies and processes in place. However, some improvements were needed to ensure the local authority safeguarding information was available.

There were regular ongoing training sessions in place to ensure that staff could safely deliver care and support to people. However, improvements were needed to ensure staff supervision arrangements were in place.

The home had an effective system to deal with complaints that people using the service. People and their relatives regularly had access to the manager and staff to resolve any concerns that they had.

We spoke with people who were managing their own medicines. They told us they were pleased to continue with these arrangements and that staff were supportive with their medicines.

On the day of our visit on 19 January 2012 we were told that staff do help when needed. People told us that staff are very good and that they know how to help or assist. At this visit we saw staff providing support with due consideration for dignity and choice.

People were happy with the care they received. They liked the meals and were happy to show us their own rooms. People showed us the personal items they had brought into the home and said that staff had encouraged this.

We saw that staff do work in a relaxed way and they were prompting and talking in a considerate way that respected the fact that people in the home needed things done in a way that suited them. People confirmed that staff are available when needed and would always listen and help if anything was troubling or worrying them.