The inspection visit took place on 18 September 2018 and was unannounced.

The Gables is a ‘care home.’ People 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, both of which we looked at during this inspection.

A registered manager was in place. 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 Gables Care Home registered under a new provider in July 2017. Consequently, this was their first inspection.

People who lived at The Gables and relatives we spoke with told us they were very happy with the care provided and staff were caring, compassionate and supportive. One person said, “They look after me really well and are so kind.” Also, [Relative] is in the hands of people who really care and are so kind.”

During the inspection visit we observed staff being kind and attentive to people in their care. They were caring, patient and respectful. Comments we received confirmed that.

People who lived at the home received their medicines on time and as required. Care records we looked at contained a medication care plan and risk assessment to inform staff about medication details for each individual.

There was a safeguarding procedure document on display. This gave people who lived at the home, visitors and staff information about who to report any concerns to. Staff told us they had received training in safeguarding vulnerable people and records confirmed this.

We found the building was clean and tidy. However, there were storage issues. For example, equipment was left in the hallway and wheelchairs in communal areas. These were potential hazards for people who lived at the home and put their safety at risk.

We have made a recommendation about the environment to ensure the safety of people was maintained and any obstacles and potential hazards were removed to reduce the risk of trips and falls.

Care plans we looked at were informative and up to date. However not all information was correctly recorded or detailed and put people at risk of not receiving the right care. We discussed this with the registered manager who informed us care planning was being reviewed to simplify systems and ensure all information is contained in records of people who lived at the home.

The registered manager completed risk assessments to guide staff about the mitigation of risk to people who lived at The Gables. Completed accident forms with clear documentation about any injuries and measures introduced to reduce their reoccurrence were kept. Furthermore, the registered manager would look for any patterns or trends that would be addressed to ensure people were kept safe.

Staff had been recruited safely, appropriately trained and supported. They had skills and experience required to support people with their care and social needs. One staff member said, “There was good induction training here when we started.”

The service had safe infection control procedures in place and staff had received infection control training. Staff spoken with confirmed they had been provided with protective clothing such as gloves and aprons as required. This reduced the risk of cross infection.

The service had sufficient staffing levels in place to provide support people required. We saw staff showed concern for people’s wellbeing and responded quickly when people required their help.

Care planning followed a person-centred approach and people told us they were involved in this process. We observed staff supported their human rights to good levels of family contact and supported them to meet their diverse needs.

People had been supported to have maximum ch