This inspection took place on 15 February 2017 and was unannounced. The service had previously been inspected in June 2015 when it was owned by another provider and on that occasion was rated as ‘Good’. This was the first rating inspection under the new provider, who took over the service in October 2015.

Island Court Nursing Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 55 people with a range of conditions related to old age which may include dementia. There were 51 people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 were supported by staff who had received training on how to recognise the signs of abuse. Staff were confident that if they did raise any concerns they would be listened to and acted upon.

Staff were aware of the risks to people and how to keep them safe from harm. Staffing levels had been reviewed in line with the changes in care needs of the people living at the home and additional staff had been appointed when the need was identified. People were supported to safely take their medicines and regular audits were in place to ensure medicines were administered correctly and safely.

People considered the staff who supported them to be well trained. Staff were supported by management and where additional training was required to meet people’s need’s, this was put in place. People’s human rights were respected by staff because staff applied the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in their work practice.

Staff were aware of people’s dietary needs and for those people who were at risk of losing weight, referrals were made to the dietician and any guidance they provided was followed. People had access to a variety of healthcare services to assist them to maintain good health. Positive working relationships were in place with the local GP and a number of healthcare professionals.

People were supported by staff who were caring and supportive and treated them with dignity and respect. People were supported to make their own decisions on a daily basis by staff who respected their wishes.

Staff were aware of peoples preferences as to how they wished to be supported and how they liked to spend their time. People were provided with the opportunity to take part in a number of activities that were of interest to them and had warm, friendly relationships with the staff who supported them. People were listened to and their views acted upon. Where complaints had been raised, they were investigated and responded to appropriately.

People spoke positively about the registered manager and the staff who supported her. People considered the service to be well led. The registered manager had a good working relationship with the new providers of the service and felt fully supported. Systems were in place to obtain feedback on the service from people and there were a number of audits in place which enabled the registered manager to review the quality of the service provided.