This inspection took place on 27 April 2017 and 07 June 2017, the first day was unannounced. During our last inspection we found minor breaches of Regulations 10, 11 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made and the service was no longer in breach of these regulations.

The Dales is a residential home providing accommodation and support for up to thirty people. It is

an adapted detached house based in a residential area of Wirral. Accommodation is provided over three floors with a passenger lift available to the first and second floor. The majority of bedrooms are single rooms with people sharing adapted bathrooms and shower rooms and a large lounge and dining room.

The home has a registered manager. 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 living at the home told us that they had found staff caring towards them. One person said “I get the attention here.” And a second person confirmed this saying “They look after me all right.” People’s relatives held similar opinions. One person’s relative described the staff as, “Lovely, attentive”. During our time at the home we saw that support was offered to people in a kind, respectful and patient manner.

We saw that people were provided with information about the home and how it operated. Throughout the day when they received support their feedback was sought.

Visitors and people’s relatives we spoke with told us they thought the home was safe. We saw that steps had been taken by the home to help ensure people were safe. For example policies were in place to guide staff on how to recognise and report any safeguarding incidents that may occur; appropriate risk assessments were in place in relation to the building and its environment and regular checks on equipment and services took place.

The home was responding to the risk of people falling by recording any accidents, reviewing and learning from this information. The home was also working alongside partner organisations in trialling new ways to further reduce risks.

During our visit we saw that sufficient staff were available to provide support in a patient and unrushed manner. Although staff were busy they were able to respond to people’s requests for support in a timely manner. We also saw that the building had been adapted to help meet people’s support needs safely.

We looked at how medication was ordered, managed and administered. We saw that this was done in a safe manner and there were appropriate records in place. We also saw records in place relating to supporting people with their health needs and people’s relatives told us that their family members were well supported with their health needs. The home was working alongside people’s GPs and the local authority to achieve better outcomes for people.

We saw that the food provided for people looked and smelled appetising. People told us that they enjoyed the food and we saw that people were offered a wide variety of choice.

We saw that people’s care records were clear, person centred and had been regularly reviewed. The care plans highlighted areas that were important to people. We also saw that people’s spiritual needs were recognised and supported. The service was operating within the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People who would benefit from the protection of a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard had one in place.

The home had employed staff to specifically support people to engage in activities that they found interesting. People we spoke with told us that they loved the activities in the home and enjoyed days out.

There was a registered manager in place who rel

The Dales is a residential home providing accommodation and support for up to thirty people. It is an adapted detached house based in a residential area of the Wirral. Accommodation is provided over three floors with a passenger lift available to the first and second floor. The majority of bedrooms are single rooms with people sharing adapted bathrooms and shower rooms and a large lounge and dining room.

At the time of our inspection there were 27 people living at the home.

The home has a registered manager. 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.

At this inspection we found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

We last inspected the home in April 2013. At that inspection we looked at the support people had received with consenting to their care, welfare and medication, the support provided to staff, the premises and how complaints were responded to. We found that the provider had met regulations in these areas.

The registered provider did not meet the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They had not always assessed people's capacity to make individual decisions and ensured decisions were only made on the persons behalf when they were assessed as in the persons best interests and the person was unable to make that particular decision.

Records were not stored safely and securely. This meant that people's right to privacy was not protected.

People's right to dignity and respect was not always protected by the staff team.

People received the support they needed to eat and drink and this was provided in a way that promoted a social occasion people could enjoy.

Activities were available during the day that people could choose to join in with.

Care plans provided sufficient information to inform staff about people’s support needs. This included information about their health, nutrition and personal care.

Medication practices at the home were safe. People received their medication on time and it was stored correctly.

Staff had received training and understood their role in identifying and reporting any potential incidents of abuse. People felt confident to report any concerns or complaints they had to a member of the staff team.

A system was in place for recruiting new staff to work for the organisation. This included carrying out checks to help ensure the person was suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable.

There were enough staff working at the home to meet people's needs.

We found that care plans when possible had been signed and agreed by the individual or their representative.We spoke with five relatives who told us that they were consulted regarding their loved ones well-being. All relatives told us that they had been kept informed in respect of their relatives care.

All of the people living at the home were registered with local GPs. People's health care needs were documented in their records as was contact with other health professionals such as the falls team, community psychiatric nurses and district nurses.

We saw that senior staff who administered medication in the home had received training to do so.

We found the home had been well maintained and some areas of the home had been redecorated recently.

We were told the following:

"The staff are lovely", "The staff are very good, I have no concerns" and "The staff are brilliant, they could not have possibly done more."

Staff had access to a wide range of training.

We found that the home had a comprehensive complaints procedure.

Three people told us that staff were lovely, helpful and treated them with respect. One person told us staff treated them like family. Another person told us that they were always asked if things are okay in the home.