This inspection took place on 3 May 2017 and was unannounced. A second day of inspection took place on 12 May 2017 and was announced.

We previously inspected the service on 22 and 30 March 2016 and found the service was in breach of regulations as some records were inaccessible and could not be located by the housing and care manager or senior staff. At that time the registered manager did not actively manage the regulated activity as they were based elsewhere and only routinely visited the service every four to six weeks.

Beckwith Mews is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own flats within an extra care housing complex. There are 39 self-contained apartments within the scheme and at the time of this inspection there were 29 people in receipt of a care service.

The service did not have an active registered manager. However, the person managing the service had been newly appointed and planned to apply for registration. 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.

Staff we spoke with continued to have a good understanding of how to safeguard people and actively reported concerns. Any safeguarding concerns were reported to the local authority and appropriate action was taken where required.

People had risk assessments in place and associated care plans were clearly linked and updated in line with risk assessment reviews.

Medicines were managed effectively with people receiving their medicines appropriately. Records were complete and up to date. Regular medicine audits were carried out which identified any gaps.

Staff continued to be recruited in a safe and consistent manner with all necessary checks carried out. Staffing requirements were assessed in line with peoples’ needs. From staffing rotas we saw staffing levels were consistent and staffing cover was provided by existing staff.

Staff had up to date training, and competency assessments were carried out in relation to specific areas, including the management of medicines. Regular direct observations were carried out in between supervision sessions.

People were supported to access a range of health care professionals when required, including GPs, district nurses and occupational therapists.

People were supported to meet their nutritional needs, including where people had special dietary needs.

People had their needs assessed which included staff gathering information about people’s care needs and preferences. Personalised, up to date care plans were in place to guide staff as to how people wanted their care provided.

People told us they knew how to make a complaint and would feel comfortable in doing so. The service had not received any complaints in the last 12 months.

A range of regular audits were carried out that related to the care and support the service provided to people living in Beckwith Mews.

This inspection took place on 22 March 2016 and was unannounced. A second day of inspection took place on 30 March 2016 and was announced. The service was last inspected on 14 November 2013 and met the regulations we inspected against at that time.

Beckwith Mews is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own flats within an extra care housing complex. There are 39 flats within the scheme and at the time of the inspection there were 25 people in receipt of a care service.

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.

During this inspection we found the provider had breached two regulations. Some records were inaccessible and could not be located by the housing and care manager and senior staff. The registered manager did not actively manage the regulated activity as they were based elsewhere and only routinely visit the service every four to six weeks.

Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and were confident in their role of safeguarding people. Any safeguarding concerns were investigated with the outcomes fed back and practices changed if necessary in order to prevent reoccurrences.

People had risk assessments in place and associated care plans were clearly linked and updated in line with risk assessment reviews.

Medicines were managed effectively with people receiving their medicines appropriately. All records were complete and up to date with regular medicine audits being carried out.

Staff were recruited in a safe and consistent manner with all necessary checks carried out. Staffing requirements were assessed in line with peoples’ needs. From staffing rotas we saw staffing levels were consistent and staffing cover was provided by existing staff.

Staff had up to date training and competency assessments were carried out in relation to specific areas, including the management of medicines. Regular direct observations were carried out in between supervision sessions. Staff told us they received annual appraisals.

People had access to a range of health professionals when required, including GPs, district nurses, podiatrists and occupational therapists.

People were supported to meet their nutritional needs, including where people had special dietary needs.

People had their needs assessed which included staff gathering information about people’s care needs and preferences. Personalised, up to date care plans were in place to guide staff as to how people wanted their care provided.

People told us they knew how to make a complaint and would feel comfortable in doing so. They confirmed they had no complaints about the care they received.

A range of regular audits were carried out that related to the service the home provided, as well as the premises and environment.

We carried out this inspection visit to check what progress the service had made to the improvements we suggested in July 2012 about care records, medication records and the recruitment checks for new staff. We did not talk with people who used the service as part of this inspection.

People told us they were involved in making decisions about their care. They felt the staff always respected their privacy and dignity. People felt living at the scheme meant they got staff support to help them to remain as independent as possible.

People told us they got sufficient information about the service. A visiting relative commented, “The manager is very good at keeping us informed. There’s a newsletter and announcements about events.”

People told us they kept their care records in their own flats. This meant they could read them at any time.

The people we spoke with made many positive comments about the support they received from care staff. One person said, “I get help whenever I call for it.” Another person told us, “It’s good to know I just have to press the buzzer and they make sure I’m alright. They’re all nice.”

People talked about the recent staff changes which had meant all care staff were new to them. People commented they were “getting used” to the new staff. Several people said it was difficult to get to know the staff’s names because they did not have name badges yet.

People and visiting relatives said they knew how to make a complaint if they had any concerns. One person told us, “I feel very safe here. It’s good to know they are in the building if I need them.”

We spoke with seven people who used the care service at Beckwith Mews. They told us that they felt involved in planning their own care packages.

People had many positive comments to make about the care they received. One person said, “They help me when I need it, but I like to do as much as I can for myself and this place helps me do that.”

All the people we spoke with commented positively on the attitude of staff. Their comments included, “they’re very caring”, “the staff are lovely” and “staff are compassionate and friendly.”

The provider had a good system for managing the training needs of care staff. This meant staff received all the required training before they started work and there was refresher training provided when this was needed.

The provider had a clear system for checking the quality and safety of the service, and this included asking people for their views. Records were up to date and securely stored.