Court House Retirement Home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 29 older people. At this inspection there were 24 people living at the home. One person was in hospital for the first day of inspection and had returned to the home by the second day. The home is separated into three buildings; the main house, the Cottage and the Courtyard. The home has a number of people who wish to live a more independent lifestyle within the safety and security of the care home. The provider offers respite (short stay) care.

The main house is an older building; it has two floors with communal spaces such as lounges and a dining room on the ground floor. The Courtyard has one storey and the Cottage has two storeys; each have their own communal spaces. There are a number of garden areas surrounding the buildings which have patios with tables and chairs. People were able to freely move between the buildings and gardens. At this inspection everyone had their own individual bedroom. All bedrooms were en-suite with telephone and television aerial points.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good

The home continued to ensure people were safe. There were adequate numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs and to spend time socialising with them. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. The registered manager and staff continued to encourage people to remain independent. People received their medicines safely and where possible were supported to administer their own medicines. People were protected from abuse because staff understood how to keep them safe and informed us concerns would be followed up if they were raised.

The home continued to ensure people received effective care. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People who required special diets had their wishes respected and meal times were treated as a social opportunity. Staff had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support people. People told us and we saw their healthcare needs were met. Staff respected people’s choices about whether they wanted support from staff at their medical appointments.

The home continued to provide an extremely caring service to people. People told us, and we observed that staff were kind and patient and went above and beyond for them. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff and their cultural or religious needs were valued. People were involved in decisions about the care and support they received. People’s choices were always respected. When people were unable to visit people staff made special arrangements for family members to visit them. People had their end of life preferences recorded and staff ensured these would be carried out. respected them.

The service remained responsive to people’s individual needs. Care and support was personalised to each person which ensured they were able to make choices about their day to day lives. Activities provided a range of opportunities both in the home and the community. These considered people’s hobbies and interests and as far as possible reflected people’s preferences. People knew how to complain and there were always opportunities for them to discuss concerns with the management.

The service continued to be well led. People, relatives and staff spoke highly about the registered manager and deputy manager. The registered manager continually monitored the quality of the service and made improvements in accordance with people’s changing needs. When concerns were raised during the inspection the management were proactive in responding to them. Staff and the management were continuing to strengthen their links with the local community to provide wider opportunities for people.

Fur

We spoke with five people who used the service and three members of staff. People said the staff were “very good”, “they care about us”, “very patient” and “they go to a lot of trouble to make us comfortable”. We observed people were able to make choices about their day to day lives. We noted people were able to decide how they wanted to spend their time; a carer said “we ask people what they would like us to do for them”. We saw people were supported in their chosen lifestyle. They told us they were offered meaningful activities and helped to live more independently.

We watched the interaction between the staff on duty and people living in the home. People appeared very relaxed in the company of the staff and there was a good rapport between them. Staff were offering people choice, encouraging them to undertake tasks independently and supporting them where needed. Staff were very polite and courteous.

Everyone asked said that they were happy with the care that they received. Comments included "there is nothing I would want done differently", "can’t fault this place, its home”, “I came here for six weeks, I’m still here and it’s been over a year”!

We looked at the recruitment records for three staff members. These showed that appropriate checks had been completed to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People we spoke with who used the service said they were able to express their views during resident’s meetings as well as completing the annual questionnaires. This meant that people’s views were obtained on a regular basis.

Court House Retirement Home is registered to provide care for up to 29 people. The home specialises in the care of older people but does not provide nursing care. There was a registered manager in post who was responsible for the home. 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.

At the last inspection carried out in October 2013 we did not identify any concerns with the care provided to people.

During the inspection we found there was a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the home. People told us they were happy living at Court House Retirement Home and found the staff both caring and supportive.

The ethos of the home was to support people to be as independent as possible. We saw this demonstrated throughout the inspection. People told us they were relieved they had been able to maintain their independence despite moving into a care home. People could come and go as they wished. One person told us, “I like my independence. I go out every day to the local shops and to meet my friends. Nobody asks me where I am going or why. I know other people go out on the buses and with family”.

People’s health care needs were fully assessed and care and support was provided on an individual level. One staff member told us, “We are very flexible, most people want to be as independent as they can, but then may need extra support if they are not feeling up to it. So care needs can change on a daily basis, and that is what we are here for”. This meant people’s individual changing needs were considered and catered for. Care plans and care practices were monitored to ensure people’s preferences were being followed and improvements were made when needed.

People told us staff were caring and knowledgeable about their needs. One person told us, “They know what I need and they are prepared to move things around if I change my mind.” A relative told us, “They have been excellent in the care they provided my mother. They knew exactly how to support her to ensure her health improved within a few weeks of coming here”. Records showed staff had all received appropriate training to provide the care and support people needed. The registered manager had plans in place to ensure staff continued to attend training to keep up to date with good care practices.

Everybody spoken with told us they enjoyed the food, they all said the food was excellent and one person told us they should be, “rated five stars” for the meals provided. We saw people were offered choices and the food was nutritious and well presented. Before going in for lunch we saw people met in the drawing room for a glass of sherry. One person told us, “You can have a glass of wine with your meal if you want.”

There was an activities programme in place and people told us there was plenty to do. We saw the programme for the month which included exercises, musical entertainment and reminiscence sessions. Staff told us they had a life history for each person so they could engage them in meaningful conversations.

All care staff had received training in identifying and reporting abuse. All staff spoken with were able to explain to us the signs of abuse and how they would report any concerns they had. They all stated they were confident any concerns bought to the registered manager would be dealt with appropriately. People told us they felt safe in the home and they all knew who to talk to if they wanted to raise a concern or complaint.

There were systems in place to monitor the care provided and people’s experiences. A regular survey was carried out asking people, their relatives and healthcare professionals about the service provided by the home. Suggestions for change were listened to and actions taken to improve the service provided. All incidents and accidents were monitored, trends identified and learning shared with staff to put into practice.