Charlton Kings Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Charlton Kings Care Home accommodates up to 32 people in one adapted building. There were 26 people living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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

This was the first inspection under the current provider registration which started in March 2015. Previously the service was inspected under a previous provider name in May 2014 and had never formally been rated. While the provider name had changed the service and its staff had remained the same. At this inspection we rated the service as ‘Good’ overall.

Staff had received training appropriate to their role. Staff had received training around safeguarding and were confident raising any concerns relating to potential abuse or neglect. Staff received regular supervision from the management team. The administration and management of medicines was safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff working at Charlton Kings Care Home. There was a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were recruited.

Risk assessments were updated to ensure people were supported in a safe manner and risks were minimised. Where people had suffered an accident, action had been taken to ensure the on-going safety of the person.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were encouraged to make choices about their day to day lives. People were supported to access health professionals. They could choose what they liked to eat and drink and were supported on a regular basis to participate in meaningful activities.

People and their relatives were positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff were caring and kind and they felt safe living in the home. We observed staff supporting people in a caring and patient way. Staff knew people they supported well and were able to describe what they liked to do and how they liked to be supported.

The service was responsive to people’s needs. Care plans were person centred to guide staff to provide consistent, high quality care and support. Daily records were detailed and provided evidence of person centred care.

People at the end of their life received emphatic person centred care. The service was working towards a nationally recognised end of life care practice accreditation. We made a recommendation to support the service to develop outstanding and innovative person-centred end of life care.

The service was well led. Quality assurance checks were in place and identified actions to improve the service. Staff and relatives spoke positively about the management team. People’s feedback and the views of relatives and staff were sought to make improvements to their experience of the service.