This unannounced inspection took place on 21 September 2016. This residential care home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 72 people. It is split into four floors and one of these floors was dedicated to supporting people who had been discharged from hospital but were not immediately medically fit enough to return home. At the time of our inspection there were 64 people living in the home.

There was not a registered manager in post, however an application had been received by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and this was being assessed at the time of the inspection. 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.

Improvements were required to ensure the staff adequately monitored people’s nutritional needs. Staff regularly reviewed the nutritional support people required however this was not always accurate or fully analysed. People were supported and encouraged to eat well and maintain a balanced diet.

People felt safe in the home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People received care from staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people living at the home. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Care plans were written in a person centred manner and focussed on empowering people; personal choice, ownership for decisions and people being in control of their life. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.

The manager had a number of systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People at the home reacted positively to the manager and the culture within the home focussed upon supporting people’s health and well-being and for people to participate in activities that enhanced their quality of life. Systems were in place for the home to receive and act on feedback which reflected the care provided at the home.