Lakeside Care Home is a ‘care home’. 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. Lakeside Care Home is registered to provide personal care for up to 29 people. People’s rooms are located over two floors; there are two passenger lifts although most bedrooms were on the ground floor.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 11 and 17 October 2018. There were 29 people living at Lakeside Care Home.

This is the first inspection since the providers have registered the service as a limited company. Apart from this change, the providers, registered manager and many of the care staff have remained the same. There was a registered manager working at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs. People felt safe because there were enough staff on duty who knew how to support them. Staff records showed the staff team was a mix of experienced and staff new to working in care. There was a thorough induction process and new staff shadowed experienced staff. Staff were trained in safeguarding and had a good understanding of how to respond to safeguarding concerns and to report them in a timely manner.

Staff knew people well; this meant they recognised the changes in people’s long-term health care conditions. Care records, feedback and our observation of staff practice confirmed staff responded in a responsive manner to sudden health changes or a person’s slow decline in health. Staff worked closely as a team and ensured there was a good exchange of communication.

There was a positive culture where there was an openness to learn and improve, recognising practice and good quality care was an on-going process. People told us staff were approachable and they felt confident concerns or complaints would be addressed. People built up friendships with other people at the home, which were respected. Staff were patient and kind involving people and offering choices. People benefited from a catering team who recognised their role in supporting people to keep well and healthy.

People were actively involved in the decision to move to the home, visiting it before moving in and being involved in their assessment. People’s care and support was planned in partnership with them. Care plans were written in a person-centred way. Care plans were tailored to meet people’s individual needs and were regularly reviewed.

Risks to people were recorded and reviewed with measures put in place to reduce assessed risks. Environmental checks were completed to help keep people safe. The service had good systems in place to support staff to administer medicines safely. People visiting and living at the home praised the high standard of cleanliness.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

The service was well run with a stable management team and experienced senior staff. The registered manager was due to take on the role of a senior over the care team rather than work as the manager. While the general manager and the training and administration co-ordinator were in the process of applying to register with the Care Quality Commission to job share the role of manager. The quality assurance systems helped ensure people received a consistent standard of care. Staff worked in partnership with health professionals to make