About the service: Summer Lane Nursing Home is a nursing and residential home. It was providing personal and nursing care to 100 older people at the time of the inspection. The service is on three floors. In general, the ground floor provides nursing and residential care, the first floor provides some residential care as well as support to people who are living with dementia, and the top floor is a small residential unit.

People’s experience of using this service:

• There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. A number of people we spoke with during our inspection told us that staff were busy at times. We highlighted this to the registered manager.

• Staff felt supported by the management team, and received training, induction and supervision so that they could effectively perform their roles.

• People were supported by staff who were kind and respectful. People and their relatives were positive about staff.

• People were protected from the risk of harm as far as possible. Information was available for staff to enable them to manage risks safely. Policies, procedures and checks were in place to protect people and staff.

• People's medicines were administered as prescribed and managed safely by competent staff.

• The environment was bright, clean and well maintained, with points of interest and sensory objects for people to interact with. Plans were in place to refresh some areas of the building.

• People were supported by staff to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. We received mainly positive feedback about the meals provided at the service.

• People were supported to participate in a wide range of activities, and individual’s choices were respected.

• People’s care records were up to date and provided relevant information and guidance for staff.

• Staff carried out checks and audits regularly at the service. Actions had been identified and continued to be addressed to improve the service and provide high quality care.

• People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in place at the service supported this practice.

• More information is in our full report.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 6 March 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will visit the service in line with our inspection schedule, or sooner if required.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This inspection took place on 25 and 26 January 2017 and was unannounced..

Summer Lane Nursing Home is a care home providing accommodation for up to 100 people who require nursing and personal care. There are three units within the home; Balmoral provides residential and nursing care to older people, Waverly provides care to older people who are living with dementia and Mayflower provides care and support for up to eight people living with early onset dementia.

The home is purpose built and resides in a residential area of Worle. During our inspection there were 46 people in Balmoral, 39 people living in Waverly and three people living in Mayflower.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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’s care plans were not always up to date and care records were not always completed fully by staff. The registered manager had plans in place to address these shortfalls and we saw action was being taken to make improvements.

People, their relatives and staff said the home was a safe place for people. Systems were in place to protect people from harm and abuse and staff knew how to follow them.

The service had systems to ensure medicines were administered and stored correctly and securely. Staff were not always recording when they supported people to administer their creams and ointments.

People were supported by a sufficient number of staff to keep them safe. Risk assessments had been carried out and they contained guidance for staff on protecting people. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures to ensure that staff working with people were suitable for their roles.

People were complimentary about the food provided. Where people required specialised diets these were prepared appropriately.

Staff had enough training to keep people safe and meet their needs. Staff understood people's needs and provided the care and support they needed. People received support from health and social care professionals.

Where people lacked capacity to make decisions for themselves the service had taken steps to ensure the person’s legal rights were protected. The deputy manager had identified where further information was required and had an action plan in place to address this.

Staff had built trusting relationships with people. People were happy with the care they received. Staff interactions with people were mostly positive and caring. On two occasions staff did not communicate with people whilst they were supporting them with their meals.

There were organised activities and people were able to choose to socialise or spend time alone. There were links with the local community. People and relatives felt able to raise concerns with staff and the manager.

Staff felt well supported by the registered manager and felt there was an open door policy to raise concerns. People and relatives were complimentary about the registered manager and felt the home was well led.

There were quality assurance processes in place to monitor care and safety and plan on-going improvements. There were systems in place to share information and seek people's views about their care and the running of the home.