Grove Court is an older building, which has had modern extensions added. Nursing care and residential care is provided to people on three floors. The home is registered to provide care for up to 39 people, some of whom may be living with dementia. The service is situated in the Headingley area of Leeds. Buses into Leeds City Centre and surrounding areas are within easy access. Local shops and amenities are a short distance away. The service was in the process of developing an initiative to enable dedicated intermediate care and support to be provided to people. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people using the service.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 8 November 2017 and was unannounced. At the last comprehensive inspection in August 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service was safe. Staff had been safely recruited by having checks carried out to ensure they did not pose an identified risk to people who used the service. Safeguarding training was provided to ensure staff knew how to recognise and report incidents of potential abuse. Risks to people were assessed and monitored to enable trends to be identified and plans put in place to help manage these safely. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs. Appropriate medicines support arrangements were in place and checks were carried out to ensure people’s medication was administered in a competent way.

The service was effective. Staff were provided with a range of training and development opportunities to enable them to effectively meet people's needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. A variety of choices of food and drinks were available to ensure people’s nutritional needs were appropriately met and maintained. People's medical needs were supported with input from relevant health care professionals where this was required.

The service was caring. People’s independence was promoted and they were treated with dignity and respect by staff who provided support in a caring and compassionate manner. People were able to live their lives how they chose and they and their relatives were included in decisions about how their support was delivered.

The service was responsive. People’s support was personalised to meet their needs. A variety of opportunities were provided for people to enable them to have meaningful social interaction and reduce potential risks of social isolation. People’s care plans were evaluated and reviewed to ensure they accurately reflected their wishes and preferences. People were happy with the service delivered and were able to raise their concerns and have these investigated and where possible resolved.

The service was well-led. The service had an open and inclusive culture and people, their relatives and staff were positive about the way it was managed. People’s opinions and views were valued and considered to enable the service to learn and develop. A range of systems were available to enable the quality of service delivered to people was assessed and monitored to help this to continually improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected the service on 13 August 2015. The visit was unannounced. Our last inspection took place on 19 November 2013 and there were no identified breaches of legal requirements.

Grove Court is an older building, which has had modern extensions added. Nursing care and residential care is provided to people on three floors. The home is registered to provide care for up to 39 people, however due to recruitment difficulties of registered nurses; Grove Court is currently limiting the number of people to 30. Seven of these beds have now been designated as providing intermediate care. It is situated in the Headingley area of Leeds. Buses into Leeds City Centre and surrounding areas are within easy access. Local shops and amenities are a short distance from the home.

At the time of this inspection the home had a registered manager. 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.

During our visit we saw people being well cared for. We observed staff speaking in a caring and respectful manner to people who lived in the home. Staff demonstrated they knew people’s individual characters, likes and dislikes.

We found the service was meeting the legal requirements relating to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People’s care records demonstrated that all relevant documentation was securely and clearly filed.

People told us they felt safe. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding vulnerable adults and knew what to do to keep people safe. People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines safely.

We saw the provider had a system in place for the purpose of assessing and monitoring the quality of the service. Records showed that the provider investigated and responded to people’s complaints, according to the provider’s complaints procedure.

People had a good experience at mealtimes. The home met people’s nutritional needs and people reported they had a good choice of food. People received good support that ensured their health care needs were met. Staff were aware of and knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity.

We looked at four staff personnel files and saw the recruitment process in place ensured that staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. There was an on-going training programme in place for staff to ensure they were kept up to date and aware of current good practice.

The nursing care home cared for and supported people with a wide range of needs, such as dementia. Some people were not able to verbally tell us their experiences. We therefore used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of the people who used the service, including observing the care being delivered, talking with staff, talking with visitors and looking at records the home.

Those people who were able to said, they were pleased with care and support they had received and complimented all the staff that cared for them. One person said, “All the staff are very nice.” Another said, “They really look after you well.”

Those people who were not able to speak demonstrated positive behaviours of smiling and communicating freely with staff.

People expressed their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

Staff told us people received good care and treatment, and their needs were appropriately met. They said people who used the service received support which was planned to make sure it met their individual needs.

We looked at a number of records and audits which confirmed regular checks were being carried out to ensure the service was safe and effective.

People who used the service, their representatives and staff were asked for their views about their care and treatment and they were acted on.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

We spoke with 12 people during our visit, they felt the care and support provided was excellent. People commented that they felt supported and staff were approachable. One person who used the service said, “Staff are friendly and I get the care I want.” Another person said, “I really like living here.”

One person said, “I always said that I would never live in a home, but people are so kind and helpful and they really care. I never thought I would say that but I really like it here.”

One relative said, "This is a very good nursing home, I can relax and feel confident that my mother is being looked after in a caring professional environment." Another person said that, "Senior staff are readily available and prepared to listen."

Staff spoken with said they worked well together and had a ‘good team’. Staff said they were well supported by the manager. The domestic staff said at the moment they were having a six weeks training by an external trainer in infection control.

The Local Authority Commissioners told us they had no concerns about the service.

People using the service and visitors told us they are satisfied with the service they receive

and they are respected. People said the environment is always clean and pleasant. People

told us if they have any concerns they are happy to raise them with the staff or

management and are confident they will be dealt with appropriately.

Staff said they are confident that the management of the home would deal with

safeguarding issues or concerns appropriately and systems are in place to make sure

people are safe.