The Hailey is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Hailey can accommodate up to 40 people who require support with their mental health. On the day of our inspection, there were 32 people living at the service. Each person had their own bedroom. Everybody shared a communal lounge, a large kitchen/diner, a laundry and utility room, a smoking room and large rear garden and a courtyard.

At our last inspection we rated the service overall as Good. At this inspection we found continuing evidence to support the overall rating of Good with no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is therefore written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines when they needed to. People were supported to maintain good health and attended appointments and check-ups. People were supported in a safe environment and risks had been identified and managed in a way that enabled and encouraged people to live as independently as possible.

Staff understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse. They had received safeguarding training and were aware of how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns. The registered manager monitored incidents and accidents to make sure the care provided was safe. Emergency plans were in place so that staff knew what to do in an emergency.

Staff recruitment processes were thorough with sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet people’s assessed needs. Staff received regular training and supervision which enabled them to support people effectively.

People were supported to make decisions and choices about all aspects of their lives. People took part in activities that they had chosen. Staff understood people's support needs and there were detailed care plans, risk assessments and guidance in place to help staff support them in a personalised way.

People were supported to raise any concerns they may have. Staff respected people's right to complain if they were unhappy and supported them to resolve any concerns and issues.

Staff were caring, kind and respectful of people’s privacy and dignity. Interactions between people and the staff were positive and people were comfortable and at ease.

The registered manager and the registered provider had good management oversight. Staff said they were listened to and their suggestions were discussed and implemented. Quality assurance audits were carried out to identify any shortfalls within the service and highlight any improvements that needed to be made. The service had good links with other health and care professionals and staff were proactive in working in partnership to achieve the best outcomes for people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The Hailey Residential Care Home provides accommodation and support for up to 36 people who require support with their mental health. The provider was in the process of extending the property to incorporate four new en-suite facilities with a separate kitchen area.

The service is located on the seafront at Herne Bay with views across the sea. There were 35 people living at the service at the time of the inspection. The care and support needs of the people varied greatly.

People were independent and able to make their own decisions about how they lived their lives. They were able to let staff know what they wanted and were able to go out on their own if they wanted to.

There was registered manager working 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 of the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager had been in charge at the service for a long time. They knew people and staff well and had good oversight of everything that happened at the service. The registered manager led by example and promoted the ethos of the service which was to support people to achieve their full potential and to be as independent as possible. The registered manager made sure there were regular checks of the safety and quality of the service. They listened to people’s views and opinions and acted on them.

People received personalised care and support in a way that suited them best. A lot of the people and staff working at The Hailey had been there for many years. Positive relationships had developed. Staff knew how to support people with their day to day needs and how to develop people’s independence and skills. This continuity of care and support resulted in building people’s confidence to enable them to make more choices and decisions themselves and become more independent..

Before people decided to move into the service their support needs were assessed by the registered manager to make sure they would be able to offer them the care that they needed. The care and support needs of each person were different and each person’s care plan was personal to them. People or their relative/representative had been involved in planning peoples’ care. Most of the care plans recorded the information needed to make sure staff had guidance and information to care and support people in the safest way and in the way that suited them best. People had regular reviews of their care and support when they were able to discuss any concerns or aspirations and goals they wanted to achieve. The care plans did need to be further developed to include this information so people and staff could identify what had gone well and where more support was needed.

People were satisfied with the care and support they received. Potential risks to people were identified and guidance on how to safely manage the risks was available. People received the support interventions they needed to keep them as safe as possible.

Planned and spontaneous activities took place regularly. People had choices about how they wanted to live their lives. People were involved in activities which they enjoyed. Contact with people’s family and friends who were important to them was supported by staff. People’s individual religious preferences were respected and staff supported people to attend church services and meetings.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. There were robust staff recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable for their job roles. Staff had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs, and attended regular training courses. There was a training programme, including induction training in place to ensure that all staff received the basic and specialist training they needed to e

We spoke with people who used the service and staff at the home. People told us “I’ve been here for years and this is the only place I’d like to be”, and “There’s enough staff here to help me”. Another person told us “There’s nothing about the home that I’d change”.

We saw that care plans had been written and regularly reviewed based on people's individual assessments of their needs and contained detailed information. We saw evidence of monitoring and regular evaluations of the support that was provided, together with involvement and liaison with relatives and various health professionals, to ensure they were kept informed of changes in people's conditions when necessary.

We found that there were systems in place to ensure that medicines were managed safely, and people told us they received their prescribed medicines on time. People told us that there were enough staff at the home to meet their needs. We saw that staff had time to talk to people at the home, and to support them in activities such as local outings.

The staff members told us that they felt well supported by the management team and their colleagues. We noted that the manager had implemented regular audits across various areas of the service, to ensure that any issues of concern could be quickly addressed. People told us that the staff asked them regularly if they were happy with the care they had received.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service, because the people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not all able to tell us their experiences.

We spoke with two people living at the home. Both people told us they enjoyed the activities inside and outside of the home. They told us they felt well supported and listened to by staff. We observed staff interacting with people in a friendly and caring manner.

We found that there were care plans, health files and person centred plans in place for all people that used the service and that these were regularly reviewed and changes made as necessary. We found that people were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to make their own decisions. Where this was not possible we found that best interest meetings and mental capacity assessments had taken place.

People were protected from risk of abuse or harm by there being safeguarding policies and procedures in place and by staff knowing how and when to use them.

Evidence we saw showed us that people were supported by a caring, experienced staff team. The staff team were well supported and trained.

There was a regular cycle of quality audits undertaken to ensure that the home was kept under review. Records showed us that people using the service, families and professionals involved in people's care were consulted.

People who use services said that the staff treated them with respect, listened to them and supported them to raise any concerns they had. They said that they received the health and personal care they needed and that they were comfortable in their home. One person said, '(The staff) really do care about us all and they're kind and helpful. Like family really'.