The Fer View Residential Care Home is a small residential care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care support for up to six older people. At the time of the inspection, five people were living at the home.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us they felt safe at the home and found staff helpful and caring. The service provided safe care to people by ensuring risks involved in supporting people were identified and sufficient measures put in place to minimise those risks. There were effective systems operated to prevent abuse of people and staff had a good understanding of their role in identifying and reporting abuse and poor care. People and staff were happy with the staffing levels and the service maintained accurate records of staffing allocation. The service maintained safe medicines administration processes, accurate medicines administration records and met infection prevention control requirements.

The service followed appropriate safe recruitment procedures to ensure people were supported by staff who had been properly vetted before starting work. Staff continued to receive regular support and supervision and effective training in areas relevant to care delivery. People’s nutrition and hydration and health and care needs were met.

The service operated within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People received individualised care from staff that respected their privacy and treated them dignity.

Staff supported people to remain as independent as they could by encouraging them to carry out activities of their choice. People’s cultural and religious and spiritual needs were acknowledged and supported when required. The service was responsive to people’s changing needs and recorded them in people’s care plans. Care plans were individualised and detailed people’s life stories, their individual preferences and likes and dislikes were recorded.

The service maintained effective systems and processes to identify any gaps and areas of improvement in quality and safety of the service by carrying out regular monitoring checks and audits.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 4 February 2016 and was unannounced. The Fer View Residential Care Home is a small residential care home for up to six older people. At the time of the inspection there were five people living at the service. The service was taken over by a new registered provider in May 2015.

The home had a registered manager in place (who was also the registered provider). 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 home was clean, however there was room for improvement in the recording and implementation of the infection control procedures. People were provided with their medicines safely, however their known allergies were not always recorded on medicines records. Safe systems were in place for recruiting staff, and there were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs, however an accurate record of the staffing rota was not being maintained. The registered manager undertook to address these issues without delay.

People told us that their care needs were met to their satisfaction, and staff were caring and protected their privacy and dignity. Assessments were undertaken to ensure that people were able to consent to their care, and were not at risk of being deprived of their liberty if they were unable to go out of the home without staff support. Detailed information was provided in people’s care plans including information about their preferences.

Staff received regular training and supervision meetings to support them in their role. They spoke positively about the support provided by the registered manager. Staff training needs were assessed, with systems in place to make sure they had training in mandatory and other relevant areas. Staff showed a good knowledge of people’s life histories and preferences regarding their care and support needs. They were clear about the procedures for reporting abuse and felt that the registered manager listened to their views.

People were provided with a choice of food at meal times, and were supported to eat when this was needed. They spoke positively about the food provision in the home. They were also satisfied with the range of activities available to them, although the registered manager was looking to further develop these.

People’s health needs were met, and they were supported to consult with health and social care professionals as needed without delay. They attended meetings or spoke directly to the registered manager to raise any issues of concern. The provider had systems for monitoring the quality of the service and engaged with people and their relatives to address any concerns.