Neath House Care Centre provides personal care and accommodation for up to 47 older people living with dementia. At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

People felt safe living at the service and staff were knowledgeable about the safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures that were in place to protect people from harm. Risk assessments were in place to promote people’s safety, which were regularly reviewed. The service’s recruitment process ensured that sufficient and suitable staff were employed to care for people safely. Systems were in place to ensure medicines were managed safely.

Staff were provided with suitable support and training to care for people appropriately. People’s consent was gained before assisting them with care and support. A variety of food choices and snacks were available to ensure people received a balanced diet. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare facilities.

Positive and caring relationships had been developed with people using the service and staff. People were made to feel that they mattered. People were supported to worship according to their faith. Meetings were held regularly to enable people to make decisions about their care and support needs. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted. People were addressed by their preferred names and given the option to spend time alone in private or socialise within the communal areas. Relatives were able to visit without being unnecessarily restricted.

Assessments of needs were undertaken on admission to the service. The care provided was personalised and reflected people’s individuality. People were supported to follow their interests and hobbies. A varied activity programme was in place, which enabled people to participate in activities if they wished to avoid social isolation. Complaints were managed appropriately in line with the provider’s own complaints policy.

The culture at the service was positive and inclusive. People using the service, relatives and staff had confidence in the registered manager. Established quality assurance systems were in place and used to drive continuous improvement.

The inspection was carried out on 11 December 2014 and was unannounced.

Neath House Care Centre provides personal care and accommodation for up to 47 older people living with dementia. On the day of our visit, there were 47 people living in the home.

The service has 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were protected from abuse and felt safe at the service. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and reporting procedures. There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed and there were systems in place to ensure medicines were managed safely.

We found staff were provided with induction and formal training. There was a supervision and appraisal framework in place to support staff to carry out their roles effectively. Where people lacked capacity to make decisions Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards [DoLS] applications had been made to ensure any restrictions of their liberty were undertaken in their best interests. Staff supported people to eat and drink and to maintain a balanced diet. People had access to healthcare facilities.

People said they received excellent care from staff and staff were kind and compassionate. There were processes in place to make sure people were listened to and were involved in their care. Staff ensured that people’s privacy and dignity were promoted.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them coming to live at the service. Staff ensured that people were involved in the development of their care plan. Lessons were learnt from complaints and they were used to make improvements to the delivery of care.

The registered manager promoted a culture that was positive, open and inclusive. There was strong leadership which inspired staff to provide a quality service. There were a range of systems in place to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the service provision.

We spoke with people who used the service at Neath Hill Care Centre, one person told us that they had been well looked after and that the food was very nice. We spoke with visiting relatives who were very pleased with the way that staff had communicated with them about their relatives care. They also told us that staff were very friendly and approachable.

We saw that staff were knowledgeable about the care needs of people that used the service, and we found that induction for new staff was very good.

We saw that Neath Hill Care Centre had been thoughtfully decorated to provide a stimulating environment for people.

Neath Hill Care Centre was very clean, warm and was in an excellent state of décor following recent refurbishment. We saw that the food was plentiful and appealing. We spoke with people who used the service and they were very happy with the care they received and they told us that the staff were always happy to talk with them.

We spoke to relatives of people who used the service and they told us that “it is such a relief to leave her where she is happy”. Another relative said that “We are very pleased with the care provided at Neath Hill”.

People said they were happy at the home, the home was clean and they liked the food. People confirmed they were involved in planning their care, knew where to access information about the service and felt comfortable raising concerns with the staff and registered manager.

People confirmed they had access to activities, but would like to see an increase in the variety of activities offered at the home.