We visited on 24 February 2014 and spoke with five people using the service, nine staff and two visitors. We looked at the care plans and associated records for five people. The service was undergoing a significant refurbishment at the time of our visit and we found that there were suitable arrangements in place to keep people safe and to minimise the risk of disturbance.

One person who used the service told us "The staff are very good. They come quickly if I ring my buzzer. I am happy with the care here." Another person told us "I like it here; it is a nice hospital. Overall, I am generally happy with the service. Generally speaking, the staff are polite and friendly". A third person told us "The nurses are fantastic. It is fine here." A visitor told us "The care is good. The nurses keep you informed and I am happy for my relative to be here". A second visitor told us "The staff are good and polite and keep me informed. I am satisfied with the care provided to my relative".

We say that people's ability to give consent to treatment was assessed and that people were involved in their care plans. We found that people were receiving care and treatment to meet their needs and that the interactions between people and staff were positive. Staff told us that they were supported by their managers and that training was provided to enable them to meet people's needs. The service had suitable systems in place to review the quality of the care provided and for handling medicines.

During our visit, on 06 June 2011, people using the service told us that staff were caring.

The majority of people we spoke with were positive about the staff who support them, describing them as 'very good'. One person told us the 'therapy staff were very good' and the bathing facilities and equipment provided to aid their mobility and transfers was also good.

However people also told us they had experienced times when they felt there were not always enough nursing and care staff available to meet their personal needs in a timely way. One person said there was not enough to do during the day. Two relatives have said they had experienced poor communication between staff members regarding admission arrangements.

People told us that they enjoyed their meals and we observed a good level of support and staff interaction during the lunch time meal.