Harnham Croft Care Home provides accommodation which includes nursing and personal care for up to 40 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our visit 37 people were using the service.

The inspection took place on the 21 and 22 February 2017. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. This was the service’s first rated comprehensive inspection since their last inspection on 24 September 2013. During that inspection they were not compliant with two of the standards we assessed. A responsive follow up inspection was completed on the 2 January 2014, where we found the service had put actions into place and were meeting the legal requirements assessed.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 and their relatives told us Harnham Croft had a welcoming and homely atmosphere. Everyone we spoke with were highly complementary about the care and support received, as well as the strong leadership from the registered manager. The service encouraged and enabled people to voice their opinion about how the home was run. People were at the heart of the home and the registered manager told us they managed the home with help from people. For example people were invited to staff meetings with the registered manager commenting “We go to theirs so it’s right they are invited to ours.” People were at the forefront in making decisions from the colour and furnishings of the home to which charity they wanted to fundraise for. There was very much a “You said, we did” culture promoted within the service.

The service responded quickly to peoples’ wishes and needs. For example one person had been unable to attend their granddaughter’s wedding, so this was recreated at the home with the local vicar blessing the wedding. Another example was where staff walked a visiting donkey three flights of stairs to see a person who was end of life as they wished to see the donkey. Staff understood the importance of promoting peoples emotional well-being as much as their physical care needs.

People were treated with dignity and their right to privacy was respected. Staff knocked on people's doors before entering and sought people's permission before undertaking any care tasks. We found staff had a good understanding of people's needs, interests, likes and dislikes. We observed a range of positive and caring interactions during our inspection, with not hesitating to seek assistance where required and sharing jokes with staff.

People's medicines were managed safely. Systems in place ensured that people received the medicines as prescribed and at the correct time.

Staff had received appropriate mandatory and specific training in order to meet the changing needs of people. Staff told us they felt well supported by the management team. They received support and on-going development through reviews and an annual appraisal with their line manager.

Before people moved into Harnham Croft an assessment of their needs was undertaken. Care plans had been completed which explained how people wished to be supported and care needs were monitored and reviewed to ensure the support given continued to meet people's needs. We saw that where people could not give signed consent, their verbal consent was recorded.

People could take part in various activities in and outside of the home. The service had good links with the community and involved the community in fetes, fund raising and other events. We saw a thank you letter from the Mayor, thanking staff and people for including him in an Open Day.

There were systems in place which encouraged people and their relatives to share their views on the service