St Mary's Care Centre is a purpose built, 63 bedded Care Centre located in the residential area of Collins Green, Burtonwood in Warrington, and has been open since August 2005. It is approximately seven miles away from Warrington town centre and within easy reach of St Helens, Halton, Leigh and Wigan. The Centre is situated close to local shops, local amenities and has good access to local transport routes. St Mary’s is divided into four separate units and provides nursing care and support for a wide range of people including those with acquired brain injury, early onset dementia enduring mental health problems and older people living with dementia.

This was the first inspection since the registered provider changed in 2014.

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.

At the time of our inspection there were 63 people using the service.

People were supported by caring, friendly and respectful staff. The people using the service and their relatives told us that the quality of care and support was excellent. They told us the staff were very kind and caring and treated everyone with respect. Comments included, “I am happy here, staff treat me well” and “It’s like one big happy family, it’s a wonderful place with wonderful staff”.

People told us they felt safe and supported. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing had been assessed and information about how to manage risks was recorded in their plan of care. There were systems in place to safeguard people from risk of possible harm. The provider had effective recruitment processes in place and there were sufficient staff to support people safely.

Staff received regular supervision and they had been trained to meet people’s individual needs. They understood their roles and responsibilities to seek people’s consent prior to care being provided. Where people did not have capacity to consent to their care or make decisions about some aspects of their care, this was managed in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People’s needs had been assessed and care plans took account of their individual needs, preferences and choices. They were involved wherever possible in reviewing their care plans and were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests.

The registered manager had a formal process for handling complaints and concerns. She encouraged feedback from people who used the service, their relatives and other professionals and acted on the comments received to improve the quality of the service.

The registered manager’s quality monitoring processes had been used most effectively to drive continuous improvement. She provided stable leadership and effective support to staff. The atmosphere in the home was of calm and comfort and we saw a caring culture had been developed within the service.