We inspected Abbeyfield Grove House Residential on the 15 February and the 23 February 2018. The first day of inspection was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since it changed legal entity in March 2016.

Abbeyfield Grove House Residential provides accommodation to a maximum of sixteen people in single en-suite bedrooms. The home is located on the first floor of the Abbeyfield Grove House complex which also provides extra housing and a day centre. Thirteen people were living at the home at the home at the time of inspection.

Abbeyfield Grove House Residential 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.

Policies and procedures ensured people were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. Staff told us they had regular safeguarding training, and they were confident they knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Where concerns had been brought to the registered manager’s attention, they had worked in partnership with the relevant authorities to make sure issues were fully investigated and appropriate action taken to make sure people were protected.

We found there were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs, staff had undertaken training relevant to their roles and there were clear lines of communication and accountability within the home.

The home was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and acting within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People who used the service and their relatives told us they were made welcome when they visited the home and encouraged to maintain close family contact. The relatives we spoke with told us the registered manager and other senior staff members were good at keeping them informed and involving them in decisions about their relatives care.

People told us they enjoyed the food and we saw a wide range of food and drinks were available and people’s weight was monitored to ensure they had sufficient to eat and drink.

There was a range of activities for people to participate in, including both activities and events in the home and in the local community.

We saw the complaints policy was available to everyone who used the service. The policy detailed the arrangements for raising complaints, responding to complaints and the expected timescales within which a response would be received.

The care plans in place were person centred and contained individual risk assessments which identified specific risks to people’s health and general well-being, such as falls, mobility, nutrition and skin integrity. We saw care plans were updated on a regular basis and provided accurate and up to date information.

We saw arrangements were in place that made sure people's health needs were met. For example, people had access to the full range of NHS services. This included GPs, hospital consultants, community health nurses, opticians, chiropodists and dentists. We found medication policies and procedures were in place and staff responsible for administering medicines received appropriate training.

There was a quality assurance monitoring system in place that was designed to continually monitor and identified shortfalls in service provision. Audit results were analysed for themes and trends and there was evidence that learning from incidents took place and appropriate changes were made to procedures or work practices if required.