This inspection took place on 18 January 2017 and was unannounced. At the previous inspection of this service on 3 June 2015 we found they were in breach of one regulation This was because they did not maintain accurate records of the medicines held in stock. During this inspection we found improvements had been made and they were now meeting this regulation.

The service provides accommodation and support with personal care to older people. Some of whom were living with dementia. They are registered to provide support to a maximum of 16 people and 14 people were using the service at the time of our inspection. The service provided a mix of shared and single bedrooms.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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 enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place and people told us they felt safe using the service. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff undertook an induction training programme on commencing work at the service and received on-going training after that. People were able to make choices for themselves where they had the capacity to do so and the service operated within the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they enjoyed the food. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity.

People’s needs were assessed before they began using the service. Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to engage in various activities. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and people spoke positively about the registered manager. Systems were in place to seek the views of people on the running of the service.

This inspection took place on 18 January 2017 and was unannounced. At the previous inspection of this service on 3 June 2015 we found they were in breach of one regulation This was because they did not maintain accurate records of the medicines held in stock. During this inspection we found improvements had been made and they were now meeting this regulation.

The service provides accommodation and support with personal care to older people. Some of whom were living with dementia. They are registered to provide support to a maximum of 16 people and 14 people were using the service at the time of our inspection. The service provided a mix of shared and single bedrooms.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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 enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place and people told us they felt safe using the service. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff undertook an induction training programme on commencing work at the service and received on-going training after that. People were able to make choices for themselves where they had the capacity to do so and the service operated within the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they enjoyed the food. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity.

People’s needs were assessed before they began using the service. Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to engage in various activities. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and people spoke positively about the registered manager. Systems were in place to seek the views of people on the running of the service.

We undertook this inspection in response to concerns which had been raised with us regarding the nutritional value of food being provided and a lack of food choice offered to people who used the service.

People who used the service said that they were happy with the variety and quality of food provided. People said they were able to make choices and staff did a good job.

The menu plan was varied and offered people a healthy balanced diet. Staff told us that although there was no alternative meal recorded on the menu plan, people were able to have something different if they did not want what was planned. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of what constituted a nutritious balanced diet and were knowledgeable about people’s individual needs and preferences in relation to food and drink.

We observed staff supporting people and responding to their needs in the preparation for and during the main meal of the day.

The home was clean, tidy and adequately maintained.

We looked at five care plans and saw that they had been updated. In particular we asked to see that people's end of life wishes had been discussed. Staff had attended training in November 2013 to assist in this area. We saw that soon after our last inspection in August 2013, people were asked about they wishes and relatives were involved where applicable and general practitioners. People's decisions had been documented on their care plan and this was dated so health professionals knew to correctly observe people's choices at that time.

People who used the service said that they were happy living in the home and liked the staff team. People told us that they felt listened to and respected by the staff.

Care plans viewed detailed people’s care and support needs, however not all records were complete or available for inspection. Daily notes demonstrated that staff delivered care in line with the care plan.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs and people that used the service told us that there were enough staff to meet their needs.

Staff were knowledgeable about the safe handling of people’s medication however not all records were accurate.

The complaints procedure was adequate but would benefit from review.

Not all records were available for inspection or accurate.

People we spoke with told us the care they received met their personal needs. People also told us they had seen their care plans. We found people and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care.

There was documentary evidence that people’s needs were assessed to determine their care and support needs. There was evidence risk assessments were undertaken to ensure the safety and welfare of people who used the service was maintained.

We found the provider had arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies. Staff had first aid training and were aware of the steps they should take in the event of an emergency or accident in the home.

People that used the service told us that they were happy with the way they were looked after and felt their needs were met by the staff. One person seen laying the tables for lunch said staff made them feel involved in the running of the home, which they liked. Others said staff always asked them what activities they wanted to do. We were told “if you want to do something you can, if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to”.

Staff were seen interacting appropriately with people that used the service and were respectful when talking about and to people.

The provider/manager had made most of the changes which had been required from the last inspection and were working towards others. We saw records that evidenced the provider/registered manager had implemented regular quality monitoring and staff said they felt supported.

We did not assess compliance with ‘care and welfare’.

We talked to people who used the service as well as members of staff, all the people we spoke to described the service as being a nice place where the residents were happy and the staff kind. One member of staff told us, "this is like a family home, the staff and residents get on well". One of the people using the service told us, "It is comfortable and pleasant here, the food is nice and the staff are nice too".

Although we found this was a pleasant place to live we did find that some improvements were needed for example; poor documentation of care plans as well as general monitoring of the quality of the service.