This inspection took place on 17 October 2017 and was unannounced. The service is a care home without nursing care and is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 22 people. There were 18 people living at the service on the day of our visit.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

This was the first inspection of this service since being taken over by a new provider.

People who used the service and their relatives considered the service was safe. There were systems and processes in place to minimise the risk of abuse to people and staff understood their role in safeguarding people from harm. There was a culture of openness and transparency and staff were encouraged to whistle blow about any concerns or poor practice.

The registered manager analysed falls that people sustained so that action could be taken to reduce the likelihood future falls. There were systems in place for maintaining the building and ensuring there were regular fire safety checks. There were processes in place for the safe recruitment of staff and there were enough staff to provide the care to meet people’s needs. There were effective, organised systems in place for the safe management of medicines.

There was induction training for new staff and on-going training, as well as planned supervision and appraisals. The registered manager had been involved with the organisation of dementia training for the staff.

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

People were given choices and supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts. Their views on the food were sought and acted upon so that the menus were changed in line with people’s preferences. The people received effective healthcare support from a range of external healthcare professionals.

Care and support was provided by knowledgeable staff that knew the people at the service well. The service had a person centred culture focussed upon supporting people to meet their assessed needs. People's rights to privacy and dignity were valued and respected.

Each person had a detailed care plan written from an assessment of their needs. People and relatives were encouraged to provide feedback on the service and felt they could raise concerns. Complaints were taken seriously, investigated and responded to with understanding. Compliments were also recorded by the management team. Various activities of interest were planned during the day in which people could be involved if they so wished.

Quality assurance processes were carried regarding the quality of the service and identified actions carried out to develop the service. The service had a statement of purpose and the aims and objectives were adhered to by the registered manager who used their knowledge and skills to manage the staff.