The inspection took place on 26 and 27 April 2017 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with us.

Bernash is a care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 23 people, some of whom were living with dementia. The home is located in a residential area in Bristol. There were 22 people living there on the day of our visit.

There was a registered manager for 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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Some areas of medicines administration recording were not safe. This meant there was a risk that some people were not always being given their medicines correctly. Other aspects of medicines management in the home were found to be safe.

The provider's governance system for auditing the service was being used in a way that made it effective. There had been action taken when medicines concerns were identified.

Staff demonstrated that they were knowledgeable about their responsibility to protect people from possible abuse. They were able to explain how to recognise abuse and report concerns following the provider’s safeguarding procedure. Where risks to people were identified suitable actions were put in place to minimise the risk of people being harmed when receiving care.

Staff were kind and caring, and they supported people to live a varied and fulfilling life. Staff understood the needs of the people they supported and knew how to provide them with effective care.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to be healthy and were able to eat a varied diet. People were consulted in menu planning. Meal preferences and individual preferences were included in the menu options available. Choices were available every day at each meal time.

The staff understood the needs of the people they supported. People were well supported so that they could make choices about their care and to become more independent in their lives.

Staff were being well supported in their work. This was in an informal way and by formal staff supervision meetings. These were up to date for all staff. This meant there was an effective system in place ensure that staff were provided with the support they needed to provide care that meet properly met the needs of people at the home.

Care plans were up to date and helped guided staff so that they knew what actions were to be followed so that they were able to meet the full range needs of the people who lived at the home. Staff were aware of what was written in each person’s care records. The staff knew it was important to provide care that was flexible to each individual and met their needs.

People knew how to make a complaint and make their views known .The provider was actively seeking the views of people and their families. The provider had uploaded details of the service on to an independent rating website. This was to seek objective feedback about the home. Suggestions were acted upon and changes were made to the services when needed. New activities were introduced for example as well as new menus.

Staff spoke positively of the registered manager. The staff told us that the registered manager and provider gave strong and supportive leadership. Staff felt there was an open culture at the home and they felt able to raise any concerns and these would be dealt with properly.