This inspection visit took place on 04 January 2017 and was unannounced.

This is the Royal care homes first inspection since the new providers registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 18 December 2015.

The Royal Care home provides personal care and accommodation for up to 27 older people. The home is situated in St Anne's, in a location close to the town centre with a shopping area, local community facilities and resources and public transport. All the accommodation is located on the ground and first floor of the building and a stair lift is available for people located on the first floor. At the time of our inspection visit there were 24 people who lived at the home.

There was 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.

Although a number of people had limited verbal communication and were unable to converse with us, we were able to speak with four people who lived at the home. We also spoke with two people visiting their relatives. People told us they were happy and well cared for and felt safe living at the home. Comments received included, “The staff are very good and look after me really well. I like a grumble but I cannot grumble about them. I am happy here.” And, “I think this is a very good home and cannot fault the manager and her staff who are all wonderful. I am happy with the care and know [relative] is safe.”

We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they were kind and patient and showed affection towards the people in their care.

We saw people who lived at the home were clean and well dressed. They looked relaxed and comfortable in the care of staff supporting them. One person visiting the home said, “I really cannot fault the care of [relative]. They look really well and are always clean and well-dressed when I visit.”

People who lived at the home and their visitors told us they enjoyed a variety of activities which were organised for their entertainment. One person visiting the home said, “There was so much going on at Christmas it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves.”

Staff knew people they supported and provided a personalised service. Care plans were organised and had identified the care and support people required. We found they were informative about care people had received. They had been kept under review and updated when necessary to reflect people’s changing needs.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

We looked at the recruitment of two recently appointed staff members. We found appropriate checks had been undertaken before they had commenced their employment confirming they were safe to work with vulnerable people.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support people who lived with dementia. We found staff were knowledgeable about support needs of people in their care.

We saw the service had an induction training and development programme in place. Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs.

We found sufficient staffing levels were in place to provide support people required. This included staff supporting people to hospital appointments. We saw staff members could undertake tasks supporting people without feeling rushed.

We found people had access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs were met. We saw the service