At our last inspection of the service on 19 August 2015 the service was rated Good.

At this inspection which was unannounced we found the service remained Good and they demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

Homelands, provides residential care for up to 14 people many of whom are living with dementia. 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. It is one of three locations at the same address owned by the provider. The service is part of the Oatleigh building and is situated on the first floor known as ‘Bond Street’. Some services and facilities such as activities, kitchen and laundry arrangements are shared between the locations as a community. Homelands have its own staff and operates independently, under the overall supervision and management control of the provider. There were 10 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

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. 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.

The service had appropriate adult's procedures in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and staff were aware of the action to take if they had any concerns. Risks to people had been assessed and identified risks were managed safely. Medicines were stored, administered and recorded appropriately. People were protected from the risk of infection. Accidents and incidents were recorded and acted on in a timely manner. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. The provider conducted appropriate recruitment checks before staff started work.

Staff were appropriately inducted into the service. Staff received training, supervision and appraisals so that they were effectively able to carry out their roles. The registered manager and staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and asking for people’s consent before they provided care. People were protected from the risk of poor nutrition and had access to a range of healthcare professionals in order to maintain good health.

People told us staff were caring and respected their privacy, dignity and independence. People were involved in decisions about their care needs. People were supported to follow their interests and hobbies.

People’s needs were reviewed and monitored on a regular basis. Care plans were reflective of people's individual care needs and preferences and were reviewed on a regular basis. People knew about the service's complaints procedures and knew how to make a complaint. People's cultural needs and religious beliefs were recorded to ensure that staff took account of people's needs and wishes.

There were effective processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. People’s feedback was sought through annual satisfaction surveys. Regular resident and staff meetings took place where people were provided with opportunities to provide feedback about the service. People and staff were complimentary about the registered manager and the service.

This inspection took place on 19 August 2015 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in October 2013 the provider met the regulations we inspected.

Homelands is registered to provide residential care for up to 14 older people, many of whom are living with dementia. It is one of three locations at the same address owned by the provider.

The service is part of the Oatleigh building and is situated on the first floor also known as ‘Bond Street’. Some services and facilities such as activities, kitchen and laundry arrangements are shared between the locations as a community. Homelands has its own staff and operates independently, under the overall supervision and management control of the provider. There were 12 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

The home had a registered manager who was also one of the registered providers. 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.

People and their relatives were positive about the care and support provided at Homelands. Staff knew people well and understood how to meet their individual needs. We observed familiar and positive relationships between staff and people at the service during our inspection.

A Namaste Care programme commenced in March 2015 designed to improve the quality of life for people with advanced dementia. Namaste sessions include hand and foot massage and sensory stimulation and were available to people living at Homelands along with other activities taking place in the community seven days a week.

People using the service said they felt safe and that staff treated them well. There were procedures in place to recognise and respond to abuse and staff had been trained in how to follow these. The provider’s recruitment procedures additionally helped to ensure that people were protected from unsafe care.

There were enough staff on duty to make sure people’s needs were met in a safe and timely way. Staffing was managed flexibly so that people received their care when they needed and wanted it.

People received effective care and support because the staff were trained to meet their needs. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported to maintain and develop their knowledge and skills through regular management supervision.

The provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This provides a legal framework to help ensure people’s rights are protected. Staff understood people’s rights to make choices about their care and support and their responsibilities where people lacked capacity to consent or make decisions.

Medicines were stored, administered, recorded and disposed of safely. Staff were trained in the safe administration of medicines and kept records that were accurate.

All areas of the home were clean and well maintained creating a comfortable environment for people. Each person had a single room which was appropriately furnished and homely. The standards of décor and personalisation by people supported this.

Arrangements were in place for people and their relatives to share their views or raise any concerns or complaints.

The provider obtained the views of people using the service and their relatives or representatives and there were systems to regularly monitor the quality of the service provided at Homelands. Staff said they enjoyed working at the home and received the support they required from senior management.

This was a follow up inspection to check if the provider had made the required improvement following our last inspection on 7 February 2014. We focussed this inspection to check that processes relating to staff recruitment were robust and safe.

We found that the provider’s recruitment process was now robust. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks were carried out before staff started working at the service. References were also obtained from previous employers.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

On this occasion we did not speak with people using the service, because the standard inspected related to the provider’s recruitment processes.

The provider did not have effective recruitment procedures in place. We found that for most staff their criminal records checks had not been undertaken by their current employer. One staff member’s application had been made but was in progress at the time of our inspection.

All the people we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care services they received and had enjoyed their stay at the home. People told us that staff looked after them well and supported them as and when needed in their personal care needs. For example a person told us: “I read sun newspaper and my bedroom is alright”, another person said: “you get good food here”. A visiting external health care professional told us “It is a top notch service and the staff were good”.

We found that people were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. People’s care and support needs were assessed and regularly reviewed. Staff understood people’s care needs and knew how to protect them from risk and harm. We found staff criminal records checks had not been undertaken by their current employer. There was evidence that regular quality monitoring audits had taken place and learning from the audits and necessary changes were implemented.