We inspected Orchard Blythe on 2 March 2016. The inspection visit was unannounced.

Orchard Blythe provides accommodation for older people and people with a diagnosis of dementia in a residential setting. There were 46 people living at the home when we inspected the service. People were cared for in four different units at the home over a single storey building.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have 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. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. We refer to the registered manager as the manager in the body of this report.

The manager and staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure people were looked after in a way that did not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The manager had made applications to the local authority where people’s freedom was restricted in accordance with DoLS and the MCA.

Staff received training in safeguarding adults and were able to explain the correct procedure to follow if they had concerns. All necessary checks had been completed before new staff started work at the home to make sure, as far as possible, they were safe to work with the people who lived there.

Each person had a care and support plan with detailed information and guidance personal to them. Care plans included information on maintaining the person's health, their daily routines and preferences. We found people were supported with their health needs and had access to a range of healthcare professionals where a need had been identified. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines were stored and administered safely.

The manager and staff identified risks to people who used the service and took action to manage identified risks and keep people safe. People were encouraged to eat a varied diet that took account of their preferences and where necessary, their nutritional needs were monitored.

There were enough staff employed at the service to care for people safely and effectively. New staff completed an induction programme when they started work to ensure they had the skills they needed to support people effectively. Staff received training and had regular meetings with their manager in which their performance and development was discussed.

Care staff treated people with respect and dignity, and supported people to maintain their privacy and independence. People made choices about who visited them at the home. This helped people maintain personal relationships with people that were important to them.

People were supported in a range of activities, both inside and outside the home. Staff were caring and encouraged people to be involved in decisions about their life and their support needs. People were able to make decisions about their environment and choose how their personal space was arranged.

People who used the service and their relatives were given the opportunity to share their views about how the service was run. People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Complaints received were fully investigated and analysed so that the provider could learn from them. The provider acted on the feedback they received to improve their service.

Quality assurance procedures were in place to identify where improvements were needed. Where issues were identified the provider acted to make the necessary changes to its service. There was a culture within the home to learn from accidents, and incidents and to continuously improve the service provided.

When we visited Orchard Blythe we did so unannounced which meant that no one who lived at or worked at the service knew we were coming. During our visit we met some of the people that lived in the home or were staying for respite care and a visiting relative. We also met and spoke with the manager, a care team manager, four members of care staff, the cook and two visiting healthcare professionals.

People we spoke with told us that they were very happy with the service being provided. They said they were comfortable, liked the food and spoke highly of the staff commenting, "They help you with everything you want. Can’t fault them" and "They are good people, marvellous" Some people we spoke with felt that the home would benefit from more staff however.

People had care plans in place that contained information to assist staff with meeting their care and support needs. Staff we spoke with knew about people's needs and were able to tell us about them.

People were supported to maintain their food and fluid intake. Choices were available at mealtimes and people told us they enjoyed the food.

Processes were in place to protect people from abuse. People told us they felt safe in the home, with one person commenting, "I love it here, they look after me well and I feel very safe."

There were processes in place for monitoring and assessing the quality of the service provided for people. This included asking people for their views about the service provided.