Saxlingham Hall Nursing Home provides accommodation and nursing and personal care for up to 41 older people. There were 32 people living in the home on the day of our inspection.

This inspection took place on 8 November 2016 and was unannounced.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our inspection. 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 been recruited safely and had been well trained. There were enough staff on duty with the skills and knowledge to provide people with the care and support they needed. Staff received regular supervision sessions and felt supported in their roles. The turnover of staff was very low and many of the staff had worked at the service for a number of years.

Appropriate plans were in place to guide staff in how to minimise risks to keep people safe. Staff knew what action to take to ensure people were protected if they suspected they were at risk of harm. They were encouraged to raise and report any concerns they had about people through safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures.

Staff were very well trained; some staff had received additional training in order that they carried out extra roles such as in the provision of activities. Staff were eager to learn and use their skills within the home to ensure that people were receiving exceptionally good personalised care.

People had enough to eat and drink and there were arrangements in place to identify and support people who were nutritionally at risk. People had plentiful choices of the food and drink they ate. People were supported to have access to healthcare services and were involved in the regular monitoring of their health. The registered manager and team worked effectively and in partnership with healthcare professionals and was pro-active in referring people for assessment or treatment whenever it was required.

There was a friendly and welcoming atmosphere within the home; Visitors were made warmly welcome and encouraged. People were supported to maintain contact with family and friends, in some cases using additional technology such as email and video links.

Care plans detailed people’s specific support requirements. People and their relatives were involved in the reviews of their care according to their individual preferences.

Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. The high standard of care enhanced people's quality of life and wellbeing. People's preferences, likes and dislikes had been taken into consideration and support was provided in accordance with people's wishes. People's privacy and dignity were respected and promoted. This provided them with a sense of purpose and wellbeing.

There was a strong culture within the home of treating people with respect and of high quality care The views of people and their relatives about the quality of care provided at the service were regularly sought and acted on. Information was given to people about how to raise any concerns they may have and where concerns were raised these were dealt with speedily and in depth. Relatives said they felt welcomed at the service and would highly recommend it to other people.

The home was extremely responsive to people’s needs. Staff potential to deliver additional tasks such as activities was recognised and promoted. Activities were planned by staff who worked closely with people to establish their individual and unique preferences. People were supported to take part in activities of their choosing, based on their specific requests.

The home was exceptionally well led. There were very effective quality monitoring processes in place which covered all areas of the home and care delivered to peo

During this inspection, we spoke with seven people who used the service, two nurses, three care staff and the registered manager.

We found that people were happy with the care they received and were asked for their consent before the staff performed a task.

People liked the food and told us they had a choice of food and drink. The service monitored people for the risks of malnutrition and dehydration and took action when people were identified as being at risk.

The service was clean and free from offensive odours.

People told us that the staff were caring. The staff also told us that they were happy working for the service. We saw that the required checks had been completed before staff started working for the service to ensure that they were of good character.

People told us that they did not have any complaints and that they would be confident to talk to the staff if they were unhappy about anything.

We spoke with four people who used the service. All expressed their satisfaction with the service provided. One said, "I am most impressed" another said, "I came for a short time but I decided to stay."

We saw that staff interacted with people who used the service in a respectful, caring and professional manner. Staff were attentive to the needs of people and responded to requests for assistance promptly.

We looked at the care records of four people who used the service and found that people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

We spoke with five people who lived in the home. They told us that their needs were met and that they were consulted about the nursing care and support that they were provided with. People were complimentary about the staff that cared for them and told us that the staff always treated them with respect and that their privacy was respected. They told us that there were enough staff on duty to assist them and that they felt safe living in the home. They also told us that the environment was comfortable and clean and that they were provided with good meals and all the equipment they needed.