Gorselands Care Home provides care and accommodation for up to 30 older people who are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people living at the service.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good:

Staffing levels were safe to meet people’s needs and robust recruitment procedures were conducted. Medicines were administered safely. Risk assessments were in place to support people safely whilst promoting people’s independence. Staff were knowledgeable about how to safeguard people from abuse.

Staff had an effective induction when they started work at the service. A programme of regular training for staff was completed to ensure knowledge and practice was at the expected standard. People were supported to access healthcare. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible.

Staff were kind and caring. People had good relationships with staff. Care plans were person centred. People were involved with the local community and networks were established. There was a range of activities available for people to participate in. People were involved in choosing developing activities. Feedback from people was sought through meetings and surveys and suggestions implemented.

Policies and procedures were not always up to date or clear when they had been reviewed. Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service but required further development. People, relatives and staff spoke positively about how the service was run and managed.

We carried out this unannounced inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service

Gorselands Care Home provides care and accommodation for up to 30 people. The home specialises in the care of older people living with dementia.

There was a registered manager in place.  A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. Both the registered manager and the provider were available for the whole of the inspection.

On the day of the inspection there was a relaxed and caring atmosphere in the home. People were observed to be following their own choices and were able to go into the secure gardens when they wished. One person told us, “I am really happy here I feel safe and it is comfortable”. A relative told us, “The care here is really good I am glad I found this home”.

People’s health care needs were fully assessed and care and support was provided on an individual level. This meant people’s individual needs were considered and catered for. Care plans and care practices were monitored to ensure best practices were being followed and improvements were made when needed.

People, staff and relatives told us there was an open and approachable ethos in the home. We observed people chatting freely with the provider, registered manager and staff throughout the day. They appeared relaxed and at ease during the conversations.  

People told us staff were caring and knowledgeable about their needs. One person told us, “Sometimes they know what I need before I do”. Records showed staff had all received appropriate training to provide the care and support people needed. The provider had plans in place to ensure staff continued to attend training to keep up to date with good care practices.

Everybody spoken with told us they enjoyed the food, one person told us the food was “excellent”. We saw people were offered choices and the food was nutritious and well presented.

There was an activities programme in place. Due to unplanned sick leave the morning activities organiser was not in the home. This meant during the morning we saw little in the way of organised activities; however we observed staff carried out one to one activities with some people. During the afternoon people were fully engaged in preparing their entries for a local flower show.

The majority of care staff had received training in identifying and reporting abuse. All staff spoken with were able to explain to us the signs of abuse and how they would report any concerns they had. They all stated they were confident any concerns bought to the provider and registered manager would be dealt with appropriately.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the care provided and people’s experiences. A regular survey was carried out asking people and their relatives about the service they received. Suggestions for change were listened to and actions taken to improve the service provided. All incidents and accidents were monitored, trends identified and learning shared with staff to put into practice.

During our visit we spoke with four people who used the service, a relative, the provider and the registered manager.

Gorselands support people with dementia therefore some of the individuals we spoke with were unable to tell us about their experience of their care. However, some people commented positively about the care and support they were receiving. Comments included “the staff are lovely, cannot fault it here”, “the food, the staff and my room is lovely”.

We observed how people were supported during the early morning and during meal times. People were supported in a sensitive and respectful manner. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they were supporting.

Care and support was assessed and planned. Each person had a care plan detailing their support needs. These had been kept under review. When needed people had access to other health professionals.

People were provided with meaningful activities both in the home and the community.

People’s nutritional needs were being met and kept under review.

Sufficient staff supported the individuals throughout the day. Many of the individuals were choosing to get up early in the morning. Assurances were given by the provider that a review of staffing would be completed to ensure suitable numbers of staff were present in the home from 0700 to 0800.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the care provided, including seeking the views of people who use the service and their representatives.

During our visit we spoke with the provider, the manager, four members of staff, three visitors and four people who use the service. We observed people living in the home to enable us to make a judgement on the care provided to people living in Gorselands.

Gorselands Care Home support people with dementia, therefore some of the individuals we spoke with were unable to tell us about their experience of their care. However, some people did tell us they were happy with the care they were receiving. Comments included; “I have no complaints”, “the staff are lovely”, and “it is very lovely here I would not choose to go anywhere else”.

People’s needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. People were provided with meaningful activities both in the home and the community.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the care provided, including seeking the views of people who use the service and their representatives.

The people that use the service at Gorselands Care Home have dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand the experiences people have we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences. Some people using the service were able to tell us about their experiences and we also spoke with visitors to the service.

People we met and spoke with during our visit were able to tell us “I like living here and I am very well looked after”, “we are asked what we would like to eat and whether we want to join in with things” and “the staff are all very kind to me”.

Two visitors who were in the home to see their relatives told us “my mother gets brilliant care” and “my mother is treated with respect and is very well looked after”.

People told us that they received the care and support that they needed. “They couldn’t do much better. I am so well looked after”, “I am very well looked after and I want for nothing” and “everything is very friendly here and I get the help I need”. Relatives told us “the care and attention my mother receives is first class. As a family we have every confidence that she is being well looked after” and “we are kept informed of any changes, communication with the home is good”.