This inspection took place on the 24 May 2017 and was unannounced.

Merrifield House provides accommodation for older people requiring support with their personal care. The service can accommodate up to 44 people. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people living at the home.

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 received care from staff that were kind, compassionate and respectful. Their needs were assessed prior to coming to the home and individualised care plans were in place and were kept under review. Staff protected people’s dignity and demonstrated an understanding of each person’s needs. This was evident in the way staff spoke to people and the activities they engaged in with individuals. Relatives spoke positively about the care their relative received and felt that they could approach management and staff to discuss any issues or concerns they had.

Staff were supported through regular supervisions and undertook training which helped them to understand the needs of the people they were supporting. People were involved in decisions about the way in which their care and support was provided. Staff understood the need to undertake specific assessments where people lacked capacity to consent to their care and / or their day to day routines. People’s health care and nutritional needs were carefully considered and relevant health care professionals were appropriately involved in people’s care.

There were appropriate recruitment processes in place which involved the people living in the home and people felt safe and secure. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and knew how to respond if they had any concerns.

There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people; staffing levels were kept under review to ensure that people’s needs were met in timely way.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and standard of the service; action was taken to address any shortfalls. The provider and registered manager were visible and encouraged feedback, actively looking at ways to improve the service.

This inspection took place on the 24 May 2017 and was unannounced.

Merrifield House provides accommodation for older people requiring support with their personal care. The service can accommodate up to 44 people. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people living at the home.

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 received care from staff that were kind, compassionate and respectful. Their needs were assessed prior to coming to the home and individualised care plans were in place and were kept under review. Staff protected people’s dignity and demonstrated an understanding of each person’s needs. This was evident in the way staff spoke to people and the activities they engaged in with individuals. Relatives spoke positively about the care their relative received and felt that they could approach management and staff to discuss any issues or concerns they had.

Staff were supported through regular supervisions and undertook training which helped them to understand the needs of the people they were supporting. People were involved in decisions about the way in which their care and support was provided. Staff understood the need to undertake specific assessments where people lacked capacity to consent to their care and / or their day to day routines. People’s health care and nutritional needs were carefully considered and relevant health care professionals were appropriately involved in people’s care.

There were appropriate recruitment processes in place which involved the people living in the home and people felt safe and secure. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and knew how to respond if they had any concerns.

There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people; staffing levels were kept under review to ensure that people’s needs were met in timely way.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and standard of the service; action was taken to address any shortfalls. The provider and registered manager were visible and encouraged feedback, actively looking at ways to improve the service.

'Merrifield' provides care for some people with dementia who were limited in their ability to recall or express their views. We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service.

With their agreement, we met with three people individually and in private. They were able to tell us about their experience of living in 'Merrifield' and said they received “very good” care and support. They told us that the staff were kind, thoughtful, and friendly. They said they felt safe and happy living in the home.

We also spoke with two visitors who praised the “excellent” care their relatives had received and the commitment of the manager and the staff team to provide and maintain good standards of care. They said they were always made welcome when they visited 'Merrifield' and had only praise for the way the staff conducted themselves.

We found that people's privacy, dignity and independence were respected and that people were involved in decisions about their care. We found that people's needs had been assessed and care plans to meet their needs were put in place and acted upon.

We found that ‘Merrifield’ consistently provided safe, effective, and appropriate care.

We saw that the home was efficiently managed and that people were well looked after throughout the day and night.

People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available. This was because this inspection was part of a themed inspection programme to assess whether older people living in care homes are treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs are met.

The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector who was accompanied by an "expert by experience" (people who have experience of using services and who can provide that perspective) and a practicing professional.

During our inspection visit to Merrifield House we met a number of people who used the service and some of their visiting relatives. We spoke with 14 people and three relatives, to ask them for their views on the service they received at the home. Some of the people who used the service were unable to verbally communicate with us so we used our observation skills to help understand their experiences.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care and support they received from the staff working at the home. They told us that they did activities in the home and most of them said that they enjoyed doing the morning exercises. They also told us that they had outside entertainers occasionally performed at the home, which they enjoyed. One person told us “It’s nice because you can have your own privacy”, and explained that they were able to lock their own door.

Most people made positive comments about the meals provided by the home. One person explained that they were able to have their meals and drinks in their room and told us “they look after you pretty well”. Other people told us that they felt they could speak to staff about any concerns and one person commented “we don’t usually find anything to complain about”. All the people we spoke with told us that the staff were caring and looked after them well.

People’s views and experiences were taken into account in the way the service was provided and delivered most of the time. However, we identified that some improvements were needed in staff practice to ensure people’s privacy was upheld at all times.