The inspection took place on 21 October 2016 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected on 02 August 2013 and no concerns were identified.

The Links is a small residential care home for older people and people living with a dementia. The home is registered to accommodate up to 13 people who require support with their personal care needs. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection there were 9 people living at the home. People needed assistance from staff with some of their daily care routines but most of the people had relatively low dependency needs.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 registered manager told us their service philosophy was “For residents to feel this is their home without any restrictions. The staff have come into their home to help rather than feel they live in the place where staff work. And to encourage people to be independent as they are able to be”.

People who lived in the home and the staff all said the registered manager was very supportive, accessible and responsive. One person who lived in the home said “The manager is very nice. I can talk to her if I have any problems. The home is well run”. A member of staff said “The manager is very good. She bends over backwards for the staff and the residents. She’s hands on and not just sat in the office”.

Staff supported people in a caring and considerate way and had a good understanding of each person’s needs and preferences. People who lived in the home told us they got on well together and considered the staff and the other people who lived in the home to be their friends. One person said “The staff are lovely. I think they are the best in Somerset”.

People were also supported to access relevant healthcare practitioners when needed. The service worked closely with the local Residential Home Support Team, local GP practice, occupational therapy, falls team, and the incontinence team.

People and their relatives told us the service was responsive to their needs and people had choice about how they spent their days. People benefitted from individual engagement with the care staff as well as organised social and recreational activities. The registered manager said one of their priority areas was to continue to develop increased opportunities for people to engage in social activities.

People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and to maintain a healthy diet. One person said “They are very good cooks. The food is always lovely and always different”. Another person said “We get more than enough to eat but you can ask for more if you want it”.

There were enough suitably trained staff to keep people safe and to meet people’s individual care needs. People were also protected from abuse and avoidable harm through appropriate policies, procedures and staff training. People received their medicines safely and were protected from the risk of acquired infections.

The service provided a homely and comfortable environment but the building was not suitable for wheelchair access. There were bedrooms on both the ground and first floors. Access to the first floor bedrooms was via a flight of stairs, with a stair lift for people with limited mobility. The accommodation was reasonably spacious and it was clean and well maintained throughout. People were able to decorate and furnish their bedrooms to suit their individual tastes.

The service had links with the local community and received regular support from a local church and chaplain.

During our visit we were introduced to all of the eight people who lived at The Links. We saw three people sitting in the main lounge of the home and met other people spending time in their rooms. We observed that people were able to furnish their rooms with furniture from home. One person told us “I miss home but bringing some of my bits and pieces helps.”

People who spoke with us said they could choose how to spend their day. We saw there was information for people in the reception area of the home so that people were aware of the activities available. We were also told that visitors were always welcome in the home. People who lived at the Links had a key fob for the front door and could go out as they wished.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy and safe at The Links. One person commenting on the home told us, “I have a lovely view from my room and I can watch the world go by.”

The staff we spoke with had a very clear understanding of the care needs of people who lived in the home. We saw that people were treated with respect and dignity, for example, staff were observed to make good eye contact and used touch to reassure people. One staff member told us “I love working here, I always have time to chat to the people who live here and listen to them.”

We observed the atmosphere and general ambiance of the home to be friendly, calm and relaxed.

People told us that they were happy living at the Links. Relatives and visitors told us that staff were very kind and conscientious in providing care and support to people using the service. People told us that they felt involved in their care planning and records confirmed that they had given their consent to care, treatment and support provided. We observed that the building was warm and comfortable. We saw that bedrooms had been personalised with people's own furniture, pictures and possessions.

Staff we spoke to told us that they had received good training and felt well qualified to do their jobs. The manager told us that further learning and development options were being sourced for specialised training from external organisations.

People we spoke to were confident that if they had concerns they would be listened to by the manager or senior staff; however they told us that they had no need to make any complaints as they were happy with the care and support provided.

The Links is part of the Weston-super-Mare Free Church Housing Association group of care homes. The Links is registered to accommodate 13 people in 11 rooms (some with joint occupancy) but on the day of our visit, had 11 people living at the home. We met all of the people living at The Links and talked at length with five people. Some people had only recently come to live at The Links, while others had lived there for many years.

We were told by people that "I couldn't find any faults or anything to complain about" and "the staff are lovely", "very attentive", and "I don't ever want for anything". People who had recently come to live at the home said that members of staff had helped them to settle in, and were "very welcoming".

People said that the food was "excellent" and "lovely". We asked people what would happen if they were offered food that they did not like, and were told that the cook would happily make them something else. People said that they were able to eat in their rooms if they preferred that, and that they were able to maintain their privacy, dignity and independence and much as possible.

We asked people if they felt that they had enough to do during the day. People said that they had outings that they could join in with every couple of weeks. People said that they sometimes prefer to sit quietly and read the newspaper, and they were able to do this when they wished. We were told that the home had a dedicated activities organiser and that this member of staff was "very lively and enthusiastic" and that the home worked hard to arrange activities and events that suited well the people who lived there.

We found that some training of staff was out of date, and some staff had not had regular or recent supervision or appraisals.