This inspection took place on 16 and 17 October 2018 and was unannounced.

Goodwood Orchard Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Goodwood Orchard Care Home provides accommodation for up to 18 people in one adapted building. The service specialises in caring for older people including those with living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 17 people were in residence.

This was the first inspection of the service since they were registered in March 2018. At this inspection we found evidence to support the rating of ‘requires improvement’.

A registered manager was not in post. The provider had appointed a manager and they had begun the registration process. 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. We will continue to monitor this.

The risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been assessed. However, further improvements were needed to ensure risks were reviewed when people’s needs changed and care plans were updated to provide clearer guidance for staff to follow.

People and their family were involved in the development of their care plans, but their decisions were not always documented or showed that people had been involved in the review of their care. The new care plans and risk assessments developed were comprehensive and reflected people’s needs, preferences and diverse cultural requirements. A system was put in place to review risks to people and information transferred to the new care plan formats provided clear guidance for staff to follow. The provider assured us they would monitor this.

People received their medicines in a safe way. However, further action was needed to ensure staff followed the safer management and administration of people’s medicines in relation to medicines that had only 28 days shelf life and to complete medicines administration records in full.

The provider had governance systems and processes had not been fully implemented. The provider’s policies and procedures were being reviewed and updated. There were arrangements in place to ensure actions were taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service. The provider agreed to reflect and develop their systems further that would ensure improvements would be maintained.

The provider had made some improvements to the premises and décor and purchased new equipment and furniture as needed. The provider made improvements immediately where safety issues were found in relation to the premises and equipment.

People lived in an environment that was clean and tidy. Staff followed infection prevention and control practices.

Staff recruitment procedures reduced the risks of employing staff unsuitable to work in care. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff were trained in safeguarding and other safety procedures to ensure people were safe and protected from avoidable harm. Staff were supported in their role and received training and supervision to provide effective care. Staff understood their responsibilities to report concerns.

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. People were involved and made decisions about all aspects of their care. Although decisions made were not always documented staff acted on and respected people’s wishes.

People were provided with choice of meals that met their dietary needs. Drinks and snacks were