This inspection took place on 31 May 2017 and was announced.

OSJCT Orchard Meadows is an Extra Care Housing Scheme which provides accommodation of individual flats for people over the age of 55. The service registered with CQC supports people with personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.

At the last inspection on 29 May 2015 we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in relation to people's care plans and this action had been completed.

There was a positive, welcoming atmosphere at the service. The management and staff were open and approachable. People were complimentary about the support they received and had developed positive relationships with staff.

Staff were kind and caring and understood the importance of promoting people's independence and involving them in their care. Staff ensured people had maximum choice and control of their lives.

People were confident they were safe. Care plans identified risks to people and how they would be managed. Staff were knowledgeable about their responsibilities to identify and report concerns relating to abuse.

Staff were complimentary about the support they received. Staff felt valued and listened to and there was a strong team ethos. Staff completed training to ensure they had the knowledge to meet people's needs.

There was an effective management team who had systems in place to monitor and improve the service. There were systems in place that encouraged people to give feedback about the service and this was used to make improvements.

We inspected Orchard Meadows on 29 June 2015. This was an announced inspection. We previously inspected the service in 26 February 2014. The service was meeting the requirements of the regulations at that time.

Orchard Meadows provides an 'independent living' service to people living in their own flats at the location. This type of service supports people to live as independently as possible, with the option of onsite care support when needed. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 26 people with personal care.

People told us they felt safe and staff were kind and caring. People were cared for in a respectful way. People were involved in their care planning. They were provided with person-centred care which encouraged choice and independence. Staff knew people well and understood their individual preferences. People were supported to maintain their health and were referred for specialist advice as required.

People told us staff were punctual and reliable. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. People felt supported by competent staff. Staff felt motivated and supported to improve the quality of care provided to people. Staff benefitted from regular supervision, team meetings and training in areas such as Dementia awareness.

The home had a registered manager in place. 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, relatives and staff were complimentary about the registered manager and the management team. The registered manager sought feedback from people and their relatives and was continually striving to improve the quality of the service. There was an open culture where people and staff were confident they could raise any concerns. Staff understood and worked to uphold the values of the organisation.

Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This act provides legal safeguards for people who may be unable to make their own decisions.

Improvements were required to some people's care records to ensure they were legible, accurate and up to date. Some people's care records were untidy and house and office copies did not always hold the same information about people. This put people at risk of inappropriate care.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see the action we took and what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

We spoke with eight people, three people’s relatives and we reviewed seven people’s care files. We spoke with nine staff and reviewed six staff files. We also reviewed documents made available to us by the manager. At the time of our inspection 38 people were supported by the service.

People who used the service were given appropriate information and support regarding their care or treatment. People who used the service were given a booklet on arrival that clearly explained the options available to them. This included the option to purchase additional meals from the service and use of the communal dining room.

People we spoke with were complimentary of the care they received. One person told us, “the staff are lovely, can’t fault them”. Another person told us, “it a lovely place to be, very comfortable and staff understand what I need”.

People’s needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. Care plans we reviewed, contained initial assessments that had been used to develop care plans. Where necessary these care plans were supported by risk assessments.

People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding and the service had a clear safeguarding procedure of who to contact and inform.

Care workers we spoke with felt supported. One care worker told us, “I get regular supervision and a place to offload”. Another care worker told us, “I can go and speak to my managers about anything”. Staff also felt they received appropriate training and enough opportunities to develop. One care worker told us, “we get lots of training, it’s always on offer”. Another care worker told us, “I am doing my level 3 [diploma in Health and Social Care] at the moment, training is really good here”.

We observed regular quality audits were conducted. We saw that these audits occurred quarterly, monthly and weekly. The manager had identified that weekly audits had not been happening as planned. This person had recently taken on this role. We saw that audits were used to improve practise. The Registered manager named on this report was no longer in position at the time of our inspection but still the individual registered. The incoming manager was finalising the registration process.

During our visit we observed excellent communication and interactions between staff and people who used the service. The staff knew each person very well and were friendly but respectful towards them. The care files were found to be up to date and fit for purpose. All the care files were person centred and reflected individual people’s needs.

The comments we received from people who used the service and a relative included. “This is first class, it could not be better” “The staff have a strong empathy with my wife and her face lights up when they come to visit” “My carers are fantastic; they are so kind and friendly” “My carers always do things the way I want them to be done”.