Normanton is a service that supports older people who may be living with dementia or mental health needs. It provides accommodation with personal care for up to 29 people. There were 29 people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

Rating at last inspection

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

Why the service is rated Good.

People continued to receive support which protected them from harm and abuse. Staff supported people in a safe way, monitored risks to their safety and were available when people needed help. People's medicines were managed and stored in a safe way, and they had their medicines without delay.

Staff skills were enhanced through training and meetings where their views were listened to. Staff were encouraged to develop their skills and take on additional responsibilities in the home. Some of the staff had worked there for many years providing people with a continuity of care.

People received care that was kind and compassionate. Care was personalised to the individual and delivered by staff that were respectful, trained, well supported and managed. This ensured people received an excellent caring service.

Relationships with families and friends were cherished and well established. This meant people were able to maintain and develop their bonds with people important to them. Friends and families also built relationships with other people living in the home.

Staff had been praised by relatives about the support they and their loved ones had received during the emotional time at the end of their loved one's life. People received care and support that was individual to them. Their support needs were kept under review and staff responded when there were changes in these needs.

People had opportunities to give feedback and make complaints about the care and support they received. They also had opportunities to make suggestions for improvements at the home and these were listened to.

People lived in a home where they felt confident to convey their feelings and opinions and felt comfortable to speak with staff and managers about concerns and issues that affected them. The provider had systems in place that continued to be effective in assessing and monitoring the quality of the service provided.

Normanton provides accommodation and personal care for 29 people. This was an unannounced inspection, which meant the staff and provider did not know we would be visiting. There was 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.

Staff had attended training on safeguarding people. They had awareness about identifying abuse and how to report it. Recruitment procedures were in place although no new staff had been employed for some time. Risk management plans were in place to support people to have as much independence as possible while keeping them safe.

Medicines were safely stored, administered and recorded in line with current guidance to ensure people received their prescribed medicines in a safe way. People had regular access to healthcare professionals. A wide choice of food and drinks was available to people that met their nutritional needs and took into account their personal preferences. People enjoyed the food and drinks provided.

People were supported by skilled staff who knew them well and were available in sufficient numbers to meet people's needs effectively. People’s dignity and privacy was respected. Staff were kind and caring. Visitors were welcomed and people were supported to maintain relationships and participate in social activities and outings.

People had been consulted about their care needs and their views sought about the service. Systems were in place to ensure that complaints were responded to.

Staff were caring and supportive and demonstrated a good understanding of their roles in supporting people. Staff received training and support that was relevant to their roles. Systems were in place to ensure important information was shared amongst the team to ensure a consistent approach to people’s care. Staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding and knowledge of people’s specific support needs, so as to ensure people’s safety and protect their rights.

Care plans were regularly reviewed and showed that the person, or where appropriate their relatives, had been involved. They included people’s preferences and individual needs so that staff had clear information on how to give people the care that they required. People told us that they received the care they needed.

The service was well led. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and seek the individual views of people to improve the service.

There had been significant improvements since our last visit,

We found that the manager had rewritten everyone’s care plans using new forms and that these were being kept up to date.

We saw that the new forms included space for staff to complete capacity assessments and record decisions made on behalf of people where appropriate.

We saw that records of staff supervisions and appraisals had been brought up to date.

Everyone we spoke with was full of praise for the service. People living in the home told us, "I would thoroughly recommend it" and, “You can’t fault it in anyway”. People were very complimentary about the staff. They told us, “The staff actually care”, “The staff are so friendly and kind” and, “They help you in every way”. We spoke with a visiting health care professional who told us that, “The management have incredible knowledge”, and that the staff always seemed, “Incredibly supportive”.

People who were able to talk with us told us that the staff respected their choices and decisions. However, we found that care plans identified that some people were not able to make decisions for themselves. There were no records of how decisions were made on behalf of those people or who was making them.

We found that care plans for people who had lived in the home for several years had not been updated recently. However, staff told us that there was good verbal communication at handover meetings about people’s changing needs.

We found that medicines were safely stored, handled and administered. Medicine records were accurate and doctors’ instructions were properly acted upon.

We found that record keeping was generally poor. Although staff told us that they attended supervision meetings with the manager there were no records of these meetings for over a year. Staff also told us of training courses that they had attended for which there were no records.

We carried out this review to check on the care and welfare of people who used this service.

We did not review every outcome for this provider. We were proportionate in our approach and focused on outcome one, four, seven, 14 and 16.

We spoke with people who live at the home, visiting relatives, staff and management.

There were many positive comments and overall people were very pleased with the care and support they received. Many comments were made about staff being kind and caring, helpful and friendly. People repeatedly described Normanton as being their home. They commented that staff were eager to help them have a good quality of life.

One person told us, "The home is absolutely exemplary and a shining beacon for what care homes should be like. As a family we feel enormously grateful that it was recommended to us. The care, support and attention that is received is outstanding in all aspects. Nothing is too much trouble - ever. Communication is first class. Care is under constant review and all sorts of changes and adaptations are made to ensure people continue to remain comfortable as health needs change. I cannot praise them enough".

People who used the service said they received information before they agreed to the service. They said they had their needs assessed and were monitored closely by the staff involved with their care.

People said they were treated as individuals and any change to their care was communicated to the care workers quickly which ensured consistent quality care.