We carried out an announced inspection on 30 March 2016.

The service provides personal care and support to people who lived in their own flats within the grounds of the care home. On the day of the inspection there were 14 people being supported by the service.

The service had 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.

There were risk assessments in place that gave guidance to staff on how risks to people could be minimised. There were systems in place to safeguard people from risks of possible harm and suitable equipment was in place so that people were supported safely.

The provider had effective recruitment processes in place and there were sufficient numbers of staff to support people safely. Staff received supervision and support, and had been trained to meet people’s individual needs.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to seek people’s consent prior to care being provided. Where people did not have capacity to makes decisions or consent to their care, this had been provided in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People were supported by caring and respectful staff. They were supported to access other health and social care services when required to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People’s needs had been assessed and they had care plans that took account of their individual needs, preferences, and choices.

The provider had a formal process for handling complaints and concerns. They encouraged feedback from people so that they could use their comments to improve the quality of the service. People’s comments suggested that they were happy with the service they received.

The provider had effective quality monitoring processes in place and these had been used effectively to drive continuous improvements.

We saw evidence that people had consented to the support that they had received and people told us that they were happy with the care that they had received. One person we spoke with said, “I can sing the praises of staff all day long”. The agency had a safeguarding policy and procedure and staff had received training on how to protect people from abuse. There was a recruitment process in place to ensure that staff were suitable for their roles. We saw that the agency also had a complaints policy and procedure and people we spoke with all said that they knew how to make a complaint should the need arise.

Records pertaining to people’s care and support were not always updated and appropriately maintained.

This is a very small service and we spoke to most of the people who used it. They told us that they were very happy with the care they were offered. They said that the staff treated them with respect and promoted their independence at all times.

We looked at five outcomes and found that they were all met. Staff consulted people on all aspects of their care prior to delivering it this ensured people had their needs met. Records were kept appropriately and all the people told us that they felt safe.

People referred to the staff as being wonderful and very kind and caring.

The people who use the service told us that they were happy with the way staff looked after them. They said that they felt very secure in their own homes and that they knew if they had a problem the staff would be there to care for them. They told us that the daily checks make them feel very secure and that having access to the Chorleywood Beaumont Nursing Home for meals and social occasions made their lives very pleasant.