We inspected Priory Court on 9 November 2016. Our inspection was unannounced.

The home is located near to the centre of the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire. Residential and nursing care is provided and the home can accommodate up to 60 people who have needs related to the ageing process. There were 52 people living at the home at the time of our inspection. 19 Of the people were being supported to receive nursing care.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. 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 home is run.

Staff were recruited appropriately in order to make sure they were suitable to work within the home. Staff were provided with an induction and training which was updated regularly to enable staff to further develop their knowledge and skills. At the time this inspection was carried out there were enough suitably deployed staff available to meet people’s identified care needs.

People and their relatives were involved in planning their care. Care plan records reflected up to date information about people’s needs. Staff delivered the care that was planned and kept people at the centre of the care giving process. They cared for people in a sensitive, warm and friendly manner, respecting their choices and preferences. The management of people’s medicines was conducted safely and in line with good practice and national guidance.

People had access to a range of healthcare services and were supported to enjoy a varied diet in order to help them stay healthy. There was also a range of equipment available to meet their needs and encourage independence.

People’s rights were respected and they were supported to make decisions for themselves wherever possible. Staff understood how to support people to make decisions and choices in line with legal guidance. CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves. At the time of the inspection none of the people who lived at the home were subject to a DoLS authorisation.

People had been consulted about their individual preferences, interests and hobbies. A wide range of activities were available which enabled people to be consistently stimulated and to maintain and further develop their interests and hobbies.

People and their relatives were invited to comment on the quality of the services provided. There were systems in place for handling and resolving formal complaints and the provider and registered manager took action to address concerns when they were raised with them.

The provider and registered manager had a structured framework of checks and audits to regularly assess and monitor care practice and to ensure people received good quality care. These ensured any shortfalls in quality could be quickly identified and any improvements made.