This inspection took place on 10 November 2016 and was an unannounced inspection.

Prince Alfred is a care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 50 adults. The service is located in the Wavertree area of Liverpool and it is close to local shops and public transport routes. Accommodation is provided over three floors and upper floors can be accessed via a stair case or passenger lift. The home is fully accessible to people who are physically disabled.

At the time of the inspection visit 47 people lived at the home.

At the last inspection in July 2013 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations that were inspected at that time.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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.

People told us they felt safe and contented at Prince Alfred care home. Risk assessments were in place to protect people and reduce needless risks to them. The registered manager had procedures to protect people from abuse and unsafe care. Staff were familiar with these and had received training in safeguarding adults. They knew to take prompt action to ensure people’s safety if they became aware of or suspected a safeguarding concern. We observed staff provided safe, patient and prompt care during the inspection. A relative told us, “All the staff are friendly and helpful both to visitors and residents, nothing is too much trouble.”

Recruitment and selection was carried out safely. Appropriate checks were made on prospective staff before they were allowed to work in the home. This reduced the risk of employing unsuitable people. Staff had received training in care which gave them the skills and knowledge to provide support to people. There was a low turnover of staff so staff were familiar with people’s care needs and preferences. Another relative said, “The Staff are friendly, caring and, in my experience are always doing their best to ensure that the people in their care are given the best possible help.”

We looked at how the home was staffed. Most of the people and relatives we had contact with said there were enough staff available and they responded promptly to requests for support. However three people who lived at Prince Alfred or their relatives said they sometimes had to wait for assistance.

People we spoke with told us staff were caring and supportive. They said staff monitored their health needs, sought assistance and made appointments with other professionals promptly. A relative said, “We are always informed almost immediately of any changes to care, minor heath issues or about a visit from the GP.”

Staff managed medicines competently. People told us staff gave them their medicines correctly and when they needed them. We saw medicines were given as prescribed and stored and disposed of correctly.

People we spoke with said staff were caring and respectful and supported them to remain as independent as they could be. People felt staff spent time with them, listened to them and assisted them as they needed. One person said, “The staff are wonderful.” A relative told us, “I would most definitely recommend this home to my family and friends. I am assured that they would receive the best care and attention from a staff team that really do care and work hard to provide individuals what they want and need.”

The environment was maintained, clean and hygienic. People told us the home was always clean and tidy.

People told us they were offered different meal choices and they were all good.” Breakfast was served throughout the morning and although other meals were usually at set times people could delay having their meal if they wished. A relative said, “The foo

We spoke with 20 people who used the service and the feedback we received from everybody we spoke with was positive. People told us that they were happy with the care and support they had received and their comments included: “The standard of care is excellent” and “It’s very good here they really look after us.”

People described staff as caring and they told us staff responded quickly if they needed support. People’s comments included: "The staff are brilliant, they are very caring" and "The staff are lovely, very kind and helpful.”

We also spoke with a small number of visiting relatives. They gave us good feedback about the service which indicated to us that they felt the standard of care was good.

We found that people’s medicines were being stored safely and people got their medication at the right time and when they needed it.

Staff told us they felt appropriately trained and well supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities and we saw that staff had been provided with a good level of training since our last visit.

The quality of the service had been checked on a regular basis and people’s views about the service had been sought as part of the checks.