Smithy Forge is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service is registered to provide accommodation for up to six people who require support and care with their daily lives.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We spoke with three people who lived in the home who all gave positive feedback about the home and the staff who worked in it.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support the people with their specific needs. We found staff were knowledgeable about the support needs of people in their care. We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they had positive relationships with the people in their care as they had been supporting them for a long time as there had been no staffing changes and no new people coming to live in the home for over 10 years.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions. We saw that people were supported to make their own decisions and their choices were respected.

Care plans were person centred and driven by the people who lived who lived in the home. We saw clear one page profiles that gave clear information about the most important aspects of their care for that person. They detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required.

The registered manager and the provider used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff meetings to seek the views of staff about the service. The staff team were consistent and long standing. They demonstrated that they were committed to providing the best care possible for the people living in the home.

Smithy Forge is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service is registered to provide accommodation for up to six people who require support and care with their daily lives.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We spoke with three people who lived in the home who all gave positive feedback about the home and the staff who worked in it.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support the people with their specific needs. We found staff were knowledgeable about the support needs of people in their care. We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they had positive relationships with the people in their care as they had been supporting them for a long time as there had been no staffing changes and no new people coming to live in the home for over 10 years.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions. We saw that people were supported to make their own decisions and their choices were respected.

Care plans were person centred and driven by the people who lived who lived in the home. We saw clear one page profiles that gave clear information about the most important aspects of their care for that person. They detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required.

The registered manager and the provider used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff meetings to seek the views of staff about the service. The staff team were consistent and long standing. They demonstrated that they were committed to providing the best care possible for the people living in the home.

We spoke with all six of the people living in the home; all of them told us that they liked living there and that the staff members supporting them were good. Everyone in the home spent some of their time participating in activities that they had chosen; these included, helping in a day nursery and attending computer classes. They told us that they really enjoyed doing this.

We spoke with the staff members on duty during the visit. They were knowledgeable about the different needs of the people living at Smithy Forge and how they showed their feelings and views.

Menus and shopping for food were planned and undertaken with the people who lived in the home on a weekly basis. This was done by discussing likes/dislikes and what people felt like eating. This provided a very flexible menu for people.

Policies and procedures were in place to help ensure that people's medication was being managed appropriately and that they were being given their medicines as prescribed.

Information about the safety and quality of service provided was gathered on a continuous and ongoing basis from feedback from the people who used the service.

The people using the service who were able to tell us said that they were happy living in the home. Comments included; “It is perfect”, “Its lovely here”, “It’s great here”.

We spoke with all six of the people living in the home at the time; all of them told us that they liked living there.

Although we did not receive any direct comments regarding staff recruitment during this visit. We did observe that the relationships between the people using the service and the staff members were warm and relaxed.