We inspected Heatherwood Nursing Home on 20 October 2017. The inspection was unannounced and carried out by a single inspector. Heatherwood Nursing Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 22 adults who may also require nursing care. On the day of our inspection there were 20 elderly people living in the home.

At the last inspection in June 2015, the service was rated "Good". At this inspection we found the service remained "Good".

Heatherwood Nursing Home is on a main road in West Purley with good access to transport and local shops. All areas of the home including people's bedrooms were clean, tidy, nicely decorated and well maintained. There was a calm, relaxed atmosphere in the home.

People were satisfied with the quality of care they received. They received care which met their individual needs from a consistent staff team who knew them well and were kind and caring. Staff obtained people's consent before providing care or support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in a way which maintained their privacy and dignity.

People were supported to be as independent as they could be. They were also encouraged and assisted to keep in contact with their family and friends, and to participate in organised activities which helped to ensure they did not become socially isolated.

People were protected from abuse and foreseeable harm. They felt safe and knew who to speak to if they had any concerns about their safety. There was a sufficient number of staff to help support people safely and meet their needs. The provider ensured staff had the necessary training, skills and experience to support people effectively.

Staff encouraged people to have a balanced diet and a sufficient amount to eat and drink. People were complimentary about the choice and standard of their meals. Staff supported people to maintain good health and liaised well with outside social and health care professionals.

There were effective procedures in place to ensure that people received their medicines as prescribed. The provider's systems for ordering, storing, recording and disposing of people's medicines were understood and adhered to by staff.

People were given opportunities to feedback on the care they received. They felt able to complain if the need arose. The provider and registered manager used people's feedback to improve the quality of care delivered by developing action plans to address areas which required improvement. There were appropriate systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.

The provider and registered manager had worked in adult social care for many years. They understood how to meet the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The service was well organised and managed and they had plans to improve it further.

More detailed information is in the findings below.

We inspected Heatherwood Nursing Home on 20 October 2017. The inspection was unannounced and carried out by a single inspector. Heatherwood Nursing Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 22 adults who may also require nursing care. On the day of our inspection there were 20 elderly people living in the home.

At the last inspection in June 2015, the service was rated "Good". At this inspection we found the service remained "Good".

Heatherwood Nursing Home is on a main road in West Purley with good access to transport and local shops. All areas of the home including people's bedrooms were clean, tidy, nicely decorated and well maintained. There was a calm, relaxed atmosphere in the home.

People were satisfied with the quality of care they received. They received care which met their individual needs from a consistent staff team who knew them well and were kind and caring. Staff obtained people's consent before providing care or support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in a way which maintained their privacy and dignity.

People were supported to be as independent as they could be. They were also encouraged and assisted to keep in contact with their family and friends, and to participate in organised activities which helped to ensure they did not become socially isolated.

People were protected from abuse and foreseeable harm. They felt safe and knew who to speak to if they had any concerns about their safety. There was a sufficient number of staff to help support people safely and meet their needs. The provider ensured staff had the necessary training, skills and experience to support people effectively.

Staff encouraged people to have a balanced diet and a sufficient amount to eat and drink. People were complimentary about the choice and standard of their meals. Staff supported people to maintain good health and liaised well with outside social and health care professionals.

There were effective procedures in place to ensure that people received their medicines as prescribed. The provider's systems for ordering, storing, recording and disposing of people's medicines were understood and adhered to by staff.

People were given opportunities to feedback on the care they received. They felt able to complain if the need arose. The provider and registered manager used people's feedback to improve the quality of care delivered by developing action plans to address areas which required improvement. There were appropriate systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.

The provider and registered manager had worked in adult social care for many years. They understood how to meet the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The service was well organised and managed and they had plans to improve it further.

More detailed information is in the findings below.

We found that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. One person said of the staff, “they are always respectful and ask me if they want to do something for me or give me something.”

We reviewed four people’s care files and found that people’s needs were assessed and their care and treatment was delivered in accordance with their care plan. People were satisfied with the way their care was delivered. People using the service told us, “I am very happy here.” “The staff are lovely.” A relative said of the service, "the staff are their best asset, I have nothing but praise for them.”

We found that people were supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. People were provided with a choice of suitable and nutritious food and drink.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. We looked at a variety of records relating to the people using the service, staff and management of the service. We found the records were well organised, up to date and fit for purpose.

Due to their needs, many people that we met during our visit were unable to share their views about the standards of care. The views of people who were able to comment on their experience can be summarised as follows “the staff are very good”, “staff are all friendly” and “I am lucky to be here”. We spoke to visiting relatives and they were very pleased with the care given and were kept well informed and involved in the care of their family members. Comments from people using the service were positive, with indication that staff were kind and helpful in meeting their care needs.

19 people were living at Heatherwood Nursing Home at the time of our visit. The majority of the people were receiving nursing care and many had dementia.

We were shown many of the rooms of people who live at the service. Some rooms had been individually decorated, with personal photographs on display, although staff told us this was due to personal preference. People we spoke to told us they were happy with their room.

People who use the service had planned activities throughout the week. One person told us about their interests and other people told us they enjoyed the musical entertainment provided at the home. The hairdresser visits Heatherwood twice a week. The home also arranges communion for those who wish to take it and celebrates birthdays. Pictures of these celebrations and various outings were on display in the entrance hall.

We spoke to some people and they indicated they were happy at Heatherwood Nursing Home and positive about the staff.

People we saw and spoke to indicated they were happy with their care. We observed two people sat talking together in the communal lounge. We spoke to another person who was happy to be in their own room.

During our visit we saw that people were able to move around the home using a variety of mobility aids including walking frames and wheelchairs. We saw staff helping individuals to mobilise during our time spent at the home.

The feedback we received from visiting friends and relatives was also extremely positive.