This inspection took place on 23 January 2017 and was unannounced.

Church Terrace Care Home with Nursing is registered to provide accommodation and personal care and support to a maximum of 71 people. The home has four separate units, Oaklands, Maple Dene, Autumn Leaves and Blossom Court. Each unit has been developed to cater for people with varying mental health needs. There were 64 people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

A registered manager was in post and was present during our inspection. 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 protected from the risk of harm and abuse by staff who knew how to recognise and respond appropriately to any concerns that they had. Staff knew how to support people safely. Risks associated with people's care and support had been appropriately assessed and people had been involved in their risk assessments.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported by enough staff who had the skills to meet their needs. Staff had received training relevant to their roles and felt supported by the registered manager. Checks had been completed on new staff to make sure they were suitable to work at the home.

People had their nutritional needs assessed and people were involved in menu decisions which respected their choices. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed by staff who knew what they were for. Medicines were ordered, stored and dispensed according to national guidelines. People were supported to access external healthcare support when required.

People received care that was personal to them because staff knew what their individual preferences and needs were. People felt staff treated them with kindness and compassion and they felt involved in their own care. Staff respected people’s dignity and privacy and supported them to keep their independence as much as possible.

People felt able to discuss any concerns with the care staff or the registered manager. The provider encouraged people and their relatives to give their opinions of the home through surveys and feedback forms. Systems were in place to monitor and check the quality of care and to make sure the environment was safe.

During our inspection we spoke with 12 people who used the service, 10 members of staff and the registered manager. We also spoke with three people who visited the service. People told us they were happy with their care. One person told us, “It’s excellent quality all round. They look after you in this place”. Another person told us, “I like the general atmosphere here and the staff help me with anything I need”.

We saw that people’s agreement was gained before staff provided care or support. When people were unable to make decisions about their care and support, systems were in place to ensure that their rights were protected and decisions were made in their best interests.

Care and support was provided to people in accordance with best practice evidence. We observed staff keeping people safe and meeting people’s individual care and medication needs with care and compassion.

The service was well led as effective recruitment procedures were followed to ensure that staff who worked at the home were appropriately skilled and safe to work with the people who used the service.

The registered manager and provider were responsive to people’s feedback about the service. Complaints were investigated, responded to and acted upon appropriately to improve the quality of care.

When we carried out our unannounced inspection we spoke with 10 people who lived at Church Terrace Nursing Home, three relatives, one visiting professional and seven staff. We reviewed care records and other documents. We observed that people’s privacy, dignity and independence were respected.

People who lived at Church Terrace told us that they were happy and satisfied with the care that they received. One person told us, “Staff have time for you, they often ask how I am and if I need anything”. Another person told us, “Staff are approachable, they will give you their time and help sort my problems”. This meant that people’s health and wellbeing was maintained.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe living at Church Terrace. Staff we spoke with demonstrated a good level of understanding of how to keep people safe from the risk of harm.

We saw that people were cared for by staff that were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard. This meant that people were kept safe because they received care from appropriately trained people.

People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained.

We carried out this review to check on the care and welfare of people using this service. We visited Church Terrace in order to up date the information we hold and to establish that the needs of people were being met. The visit was unannounced which meant the provider and the staff did not know we were coming.

Church Terrace provided accommodation and nursing care for up to 71 people. There were four separate units, each accommodating up to 20 people with mental health and dementia needs, each unit had its own staff group. During the visit we spoke with people who lived at Church Terrace, relatives, and staff members. One person living at the home told us “I’m happy here”. A staff member said “I really like working here, we try our best to meet everyone’s needs” and a relative told us “It is really friendly here with very nice staff”.

Three of the units Oaklands, Maple Dene and Autumn Leaves were situated in the main building. Blossom Court was a separate building referred to as the house next door. Each unit accommodated people with a differing range of needs. We saw that some areas around the home were in need of redecoration and refurbishment whilst Blossom Court felt more homely than the main building.