About the service: Badgers Wood is a residential care home that provides residential care and accommodation for up to 37 people. At the time of our inspection, 33 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service: The service met the characteristics of outstanding.

¿ People using the service benefitted from an extremely well led and caring service. People and their relatives were placed at the heart of the service and involved at every level. People received exceptionally kind and responsive person-centred report from staff who were motivated and led to provide the best care they could.

¿ The registered manager and activities co-ordinator went the extra mile to promote intergenerational relationships and harvest the benefits these offered to enrich the quality of people’s lives. People could regain a purpose and sense of contribution from this. The service worked hard to promote the value of people’s identities and backgrounds within the local community, ensuring that this was celebrated and people still felt attached to it.

¿ Peoples independence and dignity were cornerstones of staff practice, staff understood how to support and enable individuals to maximise their potential, identifying new skills and being able share these with people they met in newly formed relationships. People were encouraged to meet goals and regain independence when possible.

¿ Staff supported people to make decisions for themselves and frequently engaged with people about their wishes and preferences. People felt they were partners in their care and encouraged to make decisions about this. The service's visions and values promoted people's rights to make choices and live a dignified and fulfilled life. Staff understood how to make people feel valued.

¿ The service was led by a registered manager and management team that were committed to delivering a service which improved the lives of the people in fulfilling and creative ways. The leadership team encouraged and facilitated staff to go the extra mile in delivering care that made people feel special. Innovation, creativity and sharing ideas and best practice were common place, staff were regularly involved in local initiatives to trail blaze the best care and support.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Published July 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on our previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The inspection took place on 23 and 25 May 2016 and was unannounced

Badgers Wood provides accommodation and personal care for up to 37 older people. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people living in the home.

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.

People were safe in the home. The service took a positive approach to managing risk which promoted people’s freedom, choice, and control. Risks to people were identified and well managed, this included risks associated with the environment and premises. Staff showed a commitment to ensuring people were protected. They demonstrated an awareness of adult safeguarding and knew how to raise concerns. People living in the home were provided with information and contact details so they knew how to raise concerns for their safety if required.

Prescribed external medicines were not stored securely, however all other practices around medicines were followed safely.

The service ensured there were enough staff so that they could interact and spend time with people. Staff had been recruited following safe recruitment practices and had the knowledge and support to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff received regular training and the service supported staff to embed their learning in to practice.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Staff and the management team understood the MCA and DoLSls and the service was following the legal requirements.

People were supported to maintain their health, this included supporting people to eat healthily and maintain a balanced diet. People were supported to access health care professionals when required.

People were cared for by kind and caring staff who knew them well. The staff were polite and treated people with dignity and respect. The service encouraged people to be involved in decisions about their care. This was done in a number of different of ways to meet people’s individual needs and preferences.

The service ensured people were supported to maintain their daily routines and enabled people to contribute to the assessment and planning of the support provided.

There were systems in place to ensure the service could listen and learn from people’s experiences, concerns, and complaints. People and their relatives felt able to raise concerns and actions were taken to address these.

There were a range of frequent and varied activities on offer which were individual and responsive to people’s personal needs and preferences.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the service and a clear ethos of team working. People and staff were involved in the development of the service and spoke positively regarding its management . Staff felt listened to and well supported.

The service had developed close links with the local community which people benefited from. The management team kept the quality of the service under close review and took action to address any issues.

People told us they were happy living at Badgers Wood. One person said, “I go to my [relative] but this is my home, I call it home.” Another person told us, “The staff are very kind and they are always about and willing.” People spoke about how they spent their time saying, “There are some good things going on. I enjoyed the bingo this afternoon.”

People said they had been consulted about their care and had been involved in drawing up their care plans. We noted that care records were up to date and reflected the needs of the person and how they should be met. Care records were held securely and were accessible to staff.

There were robust procedures in place with regard to the storage, administration, recording and disposal of medicines. All medicines were stored in a secure room and were kept in locked cupboards or trolleys. Safe administration procedures were seen.

Staff said they were well supported and we noted that all staff received training appropriate to their role. Supervision and annual appraisal were taking place regularly.

The home had a complaints procedure that was available to people and was displayed in the entrance hall. We noted that complaints and expressions of concern were dealt with appropriately and promptly.

People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available. This was because this inspection was part of a themed inspection programme to assess whether older people living in care homes are treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs are met.

The inspection team was lead by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector and joined by an expert by experience; people who have experience of using services and who can provide that perspective.

We spoke with ten people who lived in the home. People told us that they were well cared for by friendly and kind staff members. They explained that their nutritional and hydration needs were met and that they were consulted and given a choice from a variety of well cooked meals. People were complimentary about the staff that cared for them and told us that they always treated them with respect and ensured that their dignity was maintained when they were being assisted with their personal care and supported to eat and drink. They told us that the staff members were aware of their likes and dislikes and that the mealtimes were leisurely. They explained that the environment was comfortable and clean and that they could choose to eat in the dining area, their bedroom or the lounge.

We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not comment. We observed the lunch meal and mid-afternoon drinks being served to twelve people. We saw that people living in the home were given the assistance, support and attention they needed to access the food and drink they chose. We saw that people were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible and had a positive experience of being included in general conversations in a relaxed atmosphere. We found staff members understood the communication used by each person and respected their decision-making. We observed that the presentation and quality of the meal was good and that people appeared to enjoy the food and drink provided.