This inspection took place on 9 May 2017 and was announced. This was to ensure the registered manager and staff were available when we visited, to talk with us about the service.

Laurel Gardens provides an extra care service of personal care and support to people within a complex of flats. Staff provide care at pre-arranged times and people have access to call bells for staff to respond whenever additional help is required. People have access to communal facilities, including a lounge and a restaurant which offers hot and cold meals daily. At the time of our visit the service was providing care and support to 70 people.

The service 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.

People told us they felt safe, and that they could raise concerns with staff at any time. Staff were trained in safeguarding people, and we saw that they understood what action they should take in order to protect people from abuse. Staff were supported in doing so by access to the provider’s policies and procedures. Systems were used to minimise risks to people’s safety, and staff knew how to support people safely, through access to accurate and regularly updated risk assessments.

People were supported with their medicines by staff who were trained to do so, and had been assessed as competent. Medicines were given in a timely way and as prescribed. Regular audits took place, which helped to ensure medicines were given effectively. However, these audits had not identified recording errors for one person. Rapid and effective action was taken by the registered manager to ensure this was rectified. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

Checks were carried out prior to staff starting work to ensure their suitability to support people. Staff received appropriate training, support and guidance through regular supervision meetings, which helped to give them the skills, knowledge and understanding to meet the needs of people.

Management and staff understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and supported people in line with the principles of the Act. Staff were aware of the need to seek informed consent from people wherever possible.

People told us that staff were respectful and treated them with dignity and respect. They also told us that staff supported them to be as independent as possible and respected their right to privacy. People told us they could choose what to eat and drink, and that they were supported to prepare their own meals where required.

People had access to healthcare professionals whenever necessary, and we saw that the care and support provided by staff was in line with healthcare professionals’ advice. People’s care records were written in a way which helped staff to deliver personalised care. People were fully involved in deciding how their care and support was delivered, and they felt able to raise concerns about their support with staff and the manager if they were not happy with it.

People told us they were able to raise any concerns with the registered manager, and that these concerns would be listened to and responded to effectively, and in a timely way. People told us that staff and the management team were responsive and approachable. Some systems used to monitor the quality of the support provided were not always effective, and action had not always been taken as a result.