St Benedict's Nursing Home provides care and accommodation for up to 60 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 49 people living in the home. There are two separate areas of the home: The Vicarage provides general nursing care and The Deanery provides nursing care for people who are living with dementia.

St Benedict's Nursing Home is a “care home”. People living in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

There is a registered manager for the service, this is a legal requirement. 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.

The inspection took place on 28 March and 10 April 2018 and was unannounced for the first day and announced for the second day.

The arrangements for the storage and management of medicines was satisfactory. However, improvements were needed to ensure administering was as prescribed and robust in ensuring people received the appropriate dosage.

Care planning was comprehensive and focused on the individual. There was a focus on identifying the personal choices and preferences of people in relation to daily living choices and routines.

People and relatives described the home as a safe place to live with sufficient staff and a warm and welcoming environment. One person described the home as, "A safe place to be where all the staff are friendly and care about us."

The provider had made changes to ensure they identified where people's health needs were changing and may require hospital admission. This was part of their learning from a complaint made by a relative.

The home promoted an environment where staff were encouraged to improve their skills and knowledge and gain professional qualifications. The provider had established links with a local college and apprenticeships training courses.

People described the staff as, "Caring and kind". One person said how staff respected her privacy and dignity when being supported with personal care. They said, "This makes all the difference to me I do not feel embarrassed in any way."

Staff were confident about raising any concerns about the safety and welfare of people and action being taken to address their concerns ensuring people were safe.

The service was responsive to people's changing care needs and had good arrangements for getting support from outside professionals such as tissue viability nurses and dieticians. A healthcare professional spoke positively of the approach of the home, "They are very responsive to people's needs and do not hesitate in seeking professional advice."

There were regular activities and people were able to maintain their contacts with the local community. One person said, "There is a lot going on from musicians to craft, I like the choices." Another person said, "There's plenty to do if you want."

Staff were very positive about the culture of the home being one of openness and listening to people and staff. People spoke of an approachable manager, "Always around to talk about anything you want, very approachable."

The provider and registered manager were actively promoting a culture where people could be confident of receiving quality care which met their needs. They recognised the importance of having skilled and trained staff in providing consistent care to people living in the home.