Stoneleigh Care Home provides personal care and accommodation for up to 14 older people. There were 12 people living at the home at the time of our inspection. The service is in the village of Bielby and all of the accommodation provided is on the ground floor. There is wheelchair access and the home has a large garden with a duck pond.

At the last inspection in November 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us they felt safe and well cared for. Staff received safeguarding training and knew how to respond if they had any concerns. Risk assessments guided staff in how to minimise risk to people. The premises was clean and well maintained. There were enough staff to ensure people received support in a timely way. People’s medicines were managed safely.

Staff received an induction and training, to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively. They also had regular supervision and an annual appraisal.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported with their nutritional needs and told us they enjoyed the food. People were able to access a range of health services, and a visiting healthcare professional confirmed that staff always contacted them in a timely way in response to people’s changing care needs, and acted on the advice they gave.

People and relatives said staff were always very kind and caring, and the unanimously positive feedback we received showed an outstanding level of attention to people’s needs, preferences and well-being. Staff treated people with dignity and respect at all times. The home followed best practice in end of life care.

Detailed care plans were in place and staff were very knowledgeable about each person’s needs and preferences. There was a range of activities available at the home. People felt able to raise any concerns or complaints and were confident these would be addressed.

People and visitors told us the home was very well led. There was a registered manager who was supported by a deputy manager. There was a strong focus on continual improvement and the management team conducted a range of audits to check on the quality of the service. People were asked for their views on a daily basis and in annual surveys, and their suggestions were used to improve the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The inspection took place on the 27 November 2014. It was unannounced. At the last inspection the service was fully compliant with the regulations we looked at.

Stoneleigh Care Home provides personal care and accommodation for up to 14 older people. There were eleven people living at the home on the day of our visit. The service is in the village of Bielby and all of the accommodation provided is on the ground floor. There is wheelchair access and the home has large grounds with a vegetable plot, a large duck pond and chickens.

The home has 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.

People unanimously told us they felt safe and cared for living at Stoneleigh Home. They told us that staff responded to them quickly and knew and understood their needs. The care we observed throughout our visit demonstrated a real person centred ethos.

The service had safeguarding vulnerable adult’s policies and procedures which were understood by staff. Staff received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults and all those spoken with confirmed that they would tell someone should any aspect of poor care be observed.

Staff understood individual risks to people and worked with them to minimise these risks whilst also supporting them to remain as independent as possible.

All of the people living at Stoneleigh Home spoke highly of staff and we observed warm friendly relationships between people living and working at the home. It was a family environment which was very much evident throughout our visit. Recruitment systems were robust and appropriate checks were completed before people started work.

Medication systems were well managed and the provider agreed to implement competency checks (checks on their staff) as an additional measure.

People told us the service was effective at meeting their needs. They described it as ‘outstanding’ and said that the registered manager and staff regularly went the extra mile to ensure people had things which were important to them. People’s likes dislikes and personal preferences were very much catered for.

Training was provided for all staff and staff could suggest courses which were of interest or which would benefit people living at the home. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are part of the MCA (Mental Capacity Act 2005) legislation which is in place for people who are unable to make decisions for themselves. The legislation is designed to ensure that any decisions are made in people’s best interests.

People told us the food was excellent and all spoke highly of the meals provided.

People all expressed positive comments regarding the care they received. They told us they were treated with kindness and compassion and we saw this throughout our visit. They told us that staff respected their privacy and maintained their dignity at all times. Professionals also spoke highly of the service and the way in which people were cared for.

People told us that the registered manager and staff responded to their needs. Each person had individual care records which focused on them as a person. They told us that social opportunities were available and said they could choose how to spend their time.

The home had not received any complaints; however people told us that they could raise concerns if they needed to.

People unanimously told us that the service was well led. This included people living at the home, relatives, staff and other professionals. Everyone spoke highly of the registered manager and staff and there was a strong caring ethos which was evident from both feedback and observations.

There were a number of quality monitoring systems in place which focused on reviewing and improving the service on a continual basis. It was evident throughout our visit that people living there remained at the heart of everything staff did. The registered managers continual presence in the service demonstrated that they ‘led by example.’ This was also confirmed by staff during our visit. The home was well managed and run.

People who lived in the home were all positive regarding the support they received to live their lives. Comments included, “I couldn’t imagine any care home being better " and that staff “Must have been hand picked”.

People told us they had been involved and consulted on the process for moving into the home and that they were able to make choices each day, with staff respecting this.

People were supported through a care planning process to have their needs met, we found that records were reviewed and up to date.

There were recruitment processes in the home which included checks to ensure that potential staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Quality assurance systems were in place to check if the home was meeting people’s needs. The system included providing people in the home with questionnaires so that they could comment. Records were kept of the maintenance within the home although some of these policies and assessments required updating.

People who lived at Stoneleigh Care Home told us that the owner spoke to them every day. One person said, “He is marvellous. He always asks if we are happy with the care we receive.” They said they were consulted about their care, treatment and the support options which were available to them. We were told their views were sought and were acted upon so they felt they were central to the decisions being made about their care.

We observed people being spoken to with respect. We saw carers knocking on bedroom doors and waiting to be invited in. People looked well cared for and we observed support was given to suit individual needs.

People we spoke with said they felt safe and there were lots of things to do. For example quizzes and ‘gardening, when the weather is good,’ one person told us. Some of the people had lived at Stoneleigh for a number of years. One person said, “I am very lucky to live here. I feel safe. Lovely people help me.”

The staff we spoke with told us that there were sufficient people on duty to deliver the care they needed. One visitor said, “There are always plenty of staff on hand, nothing is too much trouble.”

We saw that the home had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided and to identify future needs. This included an annual satisfaction survey which was given to the people who used the service and also to their relatives or representative.