Wychbury Care Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 42 people, who are mainly older people, some of whom have dementia. At the time of our inspection 39 people were using the service. Our inspection was unannounced and took place on 25 June 2018. The service had previously been inspected in July 2016 and was rated Good.

Wychbury Care Home 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.

There was 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.

Prior to the inspection we had been notified of the sad death of a person following a fall. We have found that actions have been taken in order to minimise any possible risk to other people living in the home.

Not all staff were aware of safeguarding procedures. Staff supported people in a way that made them feel safe. Recruitment of staff was carried out appropriately. People felt supported by staff. Administration and recording of medicines given were carried out safely.

Staff had the skills and knowledge required to support people effectively. Staff received an induction prior to them working for the service and they felt prepared to do their job. Staff could access ongoing training to assist them in their role. Staff could access supervision and felt able to ask for assistance from the registered manager and senior staff, if they should need it. Staff knew how to support people in line with the Mental Capacity Act and gained their consent before assisting or supporting them. Staff encouraged people to eat healthily. Staff supported people’s healthcare needs.

Not all staff members treated people with compassion and kindness. People were involved in making their own decisions about their care and their own specific needs. People felt listened to, had the information they needed and were consulted about their care. People were encouraged to retain an appropriate level of independence with staff there ready to support them if they needed help.

People’s preferences for how they wished to receive support were known and considered by the care staff. Staff understood people’s needs and provided specific care that met their preferences. People knew how to raise complaints or concerns and felt that they would be listened to and the appropriate action would be taken.

Quality assurance audits were carried out, but did not always identify any areas for improvement. People were happy with the service they received and felt the service was led in an appropriate way. Staff were supported in their roles. Staff felt that their views or opinions were listened to. We received notifications of incidents as required.

This inspection took place on 11 July 2016 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in July 2013 the service was meeting the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Wychbury Care Home provides accommodation for up to 42 people who require personal care. On the day of our inspection there were 40 people living at the care home.

There was a registered manager in post and she was present during our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe and staff knew what actions to take to keep people safe. Risks to people’s health and safety were appropriately managed and staff also promoted people’s independence.

There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. People received their medicines as prescribed and they were administered by competent staff.

The registered manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff knew about people’s individual capacity to make decisions and supported people to make their own decisions. Staff gained people’s consent before they provided support.

Staff told us they felt supported in their role, and that they were provided with the training they needed to meet people’s needs. People were supported to access healthcare services to ensure their healthcare needs were met. People enjoyed the food that was provided and told us they were provided with sufficient quantities of food and drink.

There were warm and friendly interactions between people and staff and we observed staff talking to people respectfully. We saw that staff maintained people’s dignity.

People were happy with the support they received and with the activities that were provided. People felt able to make a complaint and were provided with information about the complaints process.

People and their relatives were asked for feedback about the quality of the service and any suggestions for improvements were welcomed. There was an open and transparent culture in the home, and people and their relatives thought the service was well managed. A range of audits was available to monitor the safety, effectiveness and quality of the service provided, and improvements were made where needed.

We spoke with eight of the 38 people living there, the manager, the senior, two care staff and the cook. We also spoke with three visiting relatives. One person living there told us, "The staff are very kind and thoughtful and don’t rush me.” A relative said, “I have every confidence in the staff, they are wonderful, so persistent and work hard to make sure people are well”.

We found that staff understood the importance of obtaining consent from people before they commenced care tasks. One person said, "They always ask us or explain to us what they would like to do, they would never do anything against your will”.

People's support plans provided guidance to staff as to how their health and personal care needs were met.

People were happy with their meals, one person said, “The food is great, I love the meals, always a choice, well presented”. Another person said, “Absolutely wonderful, I have a soup, a big dinner, pudding and drinks and snacks in the day, marvellous”. Staff recognised when people did not eat or drink enough, and knew how to support them. This meant the risks of dehydration and poor nutrition were reduced for people.

Arrangements were in place to ensure people had the equipment they needed to meet their needs, and staff had been trained to use equipment safely.

Staff members were complimentary about the support they had to do their job. People who lived there were complimentary about staff ability, attitude and understanding.

Our visit on 6 September 2012 was unannounced so people did not know we were visiting. People we spoke with told us they were happy. They told us staff involved them in their care planning and important decisions that affected them. People also told us staff treated them with respect.

We saw staff were aware of the importance of involving people in their care, and making sure people had choices in their daily lives.

Some people were not able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand the experiences people have we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. We saw staff engaged with people to help them take part in activities. They offered them choices of what they wanted to do and people looked happy.

We looked at three people's care records and saw people's needs were identified and planned for. We saw that risks to people’s health and safety had been minimised. Two people we spoke with told us they felt safe and well cared for in the home. One person said, "I have no doubts about the staff they are very good, no concerns about nasty staff here”.

We saw staff had taken part in training and they told us they would feel confident reporting any allegation of abuse and knew how to do this.

We found that people were receiving their medicines at the times they were prescribed. One person told us they had their pain relief medication when they needed it.

We found that the provider had made improvements to the environment so that people with dementia and poor mobility were not at risk.

We found that staffing levels met the needs of the people and staff training meant that people were cared for by skilled staff.

People who used the service were asked for their views about their care and systems had been put into place for the monitoring of the quality of the service.

People we spoke with told us they were happy. They told us staff involved them in their

All people we spoke to were positive about the care they receive. They told us:

"I am absolutely spoilt, they do everything for me"

"I have settled here very well, I don't have to worry about anything here,"

"Staff wash and dress me and bring me my breakfast upstairs."

A relative told us;

"She always looks very nice."

People told us that they enjoyed the meals served and that they were always given a choice. They told us:

"The soup is glorious, they make their own"

"There is always a good choice of sandwiches, I don't bother having anything else then before I go to bed."

They told us about the staff they said:

“They are lovely girls, they are so kind” and.

They don't just do their job, they do it with kindness.".