This inspection took place on 25 October 2017 and was unannounced.

Guys Cross Nursing Home is a nursing home providing accommodation and rehabilitation for up to 34 people with severe mental health disorders. The home consisted of four units over three floors. There were 32 people living in the home at the time of our inspection.

A requirement of the service’s registration is that they have 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager working at the service.

At the last inspection on 2 November 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found there was a real sense of integration and companionship between the staff and the people who lived at the home which was outstanding. Overall the service remained Good.

Staff were very motivated and enthusiastic to provide people with a homely environment where they felt valued. They had built good, supportive relationships with people and had a clear understanding of people's needs, wishes and expectations. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity by being aware of their moods and emotional wellbeing and supported people's diverse needs.

People had ownership of their care plans which were developed with them and built around what they wanted to achieve in their lives. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 because people were encouraged to be as independent as possible and empowered to take responsibility for their own lives and make their own decisions.

There were enough staff on duty to provide safe and effective care and respond to people’s requests for assistance. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse and the provider checked staff’s suitability before they started working at the home. Staff received training, support and supervision to enable them to effectively carry out their role and responsibilities. Staff were positive about their role in supporting people and had a clear understanding of the provider's values in care.

Staff supported people to maintain their health. Risks to people’s individual health and wellbeing were identified and care was planned to minimise the risks to people, whilst continuing to promote people’s independence. People received their medicines in line with nationally recognised standards for safe medicines management.

People were encouraged to participate in activities in the home and in the wider community. This ensured people were given support to maintain interests and friendships that were important to them and which promoted their emotional wellbeing.

Quality monitoring and auditing systems were in place, where each month regular checks were made to ensure a safe, effective, responsive and well-led service was provided.

This inspection took place on 25 October 2017 and was unannounced.

Guys Cross Nursing Home is a nursing home providing accommodation and rehabilitation for up to 34 people with severe mental health disorders. The home consisted of four units over three floors. There were 32 people living in the home at the time of our inspection.

A requirement of the service’s registration is that they have 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager working at the service.

At the last inspection on 2 November 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found there was a real sense of integration and companionship between the staff and the people who lived at the home which was outstanding. Overall the service remained Good.

Staff were very motivated and enthusiastic to provide people with a homely environment where they felt valued. They had built good, supportive relationships with people and had a clear understanding of people's needs, wishes and expectations. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity by being aware of their moods and emotional wellbeing and supported people's diverse needs.

People had ownership of their care plans which were developed with them and built around what they wanted to achieve in their lives. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 because people were encouraged to be as independent as possible and empowered to take responsibility for their own lives and make their own decisions.

There were enough staff on duty to provide safe and effective care and respond to people’s requests for assistance. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse and the provider checked staff’s suitability before they started working at the home. Staff received training, support and supervision to enable them to effectively carry out their role and responsibilities. Staff were positive about their role in supporting people and had a clear understanding of the provider's values in care.

Staff supported people to maintain their health. Risks to people’s individual health and wellbeing were identified and care was planned to minimise the risks to people, whilst continuing to promote people’s independence. People received their medicines in line with nationally recognised standards for safe medicines management.

People were encouraged to participate in activities in the home and in the wider community. This ensured people were given support to maintain interests and friendships that were important to them and which promoted their emotional wellbeing.

Quality monitoring and auditing systems were in place, where each month regular checks were made to ensure a safe, effective, responsive and well-led service was provided.

We spoke with four people who lived at Guys Cross Nursing Home about their experiences of the service. We observed the care that was given to people during our inspection. We also spoke with a range of staff including the registered manager and the unit managers.

People we spoke with told us that the care that was discussed with them matched the care that was provided to them. We saw that regular reviews of people's support plans described their progress towards their goals. We saw staff listened to people's input about their care needs and their wishes.

We observed people's independence was promoted throughout our inspection and people were involved with the running of the home.

We found that the support plans were person centred and reflected people’s individual needs. We noted that members of staff supported people as detailed within their care plans. We saw staff were compassionate and caring when supporting people.

We saw the home was clean and tidy. We found the home had a cleaning schedule in place and was checked on a regular basis.

People we spoke with told us that staff were friendly and supported their needs well. We saw staff understood people's care needs and how they needed to be supported.

We found the service was well led and had systems in place to monitor the quality of service being provided.

During the inspection we spoke with five people using the service and nine staff. All the people we spoke with said they liked living at the home. Four people described the home as ‘a nice place to live’, ‘alright living here’ and ‘ok, living here’. People said they liked the staff, felt safe and had been able to express their views.

People’s needs were assessed; care and treatment had been planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. People said care and treatment options had been agreed with them and ongoing health needs met, for example: visits to dentists, opticians and hospital appointments.

Staff told us people’s independence had been supported. People said they had accessed a variety of activities, as well as requesting specific activities and going out into the local community.

We were told that people’s food and drink options met their religious or cultural needs and people had snacks and drinks when they chose to. People said they had been offered one meal choice at each meal sitting; whilst, alternative options were given if requested by the person.

The staff we spoke to and people using the service said there was enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet peoples’ needs. Staff said they could access good support mechanisms. They told us about their supervision sessions, monthly unit meetings and two-monthly training meetings. Discussions with staff confirmed they received appropriate professional development and they were happy working at the home.