Five people used the service on the day of our inspection. As our inspection was unannounced no one knew we would be visiting. We spoke with two people who were using the service, all staff on duty, and two relatives. People who used the service were unable to verbally share with us their views about their care in detail so we used different ways to evidence their experiences such as looking at their care records and observing the care provided.

One person who used the service said, “Yes” when we asked if they liked staying there. Another person said, “Yes” to confirm that they were happy with the staff. One relative told us that there had been issues a year ago when there was a changeover of staff. They said, “Things are better now. They are now looked after by staff who know them well”.

We found that people were treated politely and that their privacy and dignity was maintained. We saw good interactions between people who used the service and staff. We observed that people were at ease in the company of staff.

We saw that people's needs had been assessed by a range of health care professionals including specialist doctors, specialist nurses, the dietician and the speech and language therapist. This meant that staff had taken action so that people's health and care needs would be monitored and met.

We found that people had been provided with a varied and nutritious diet to prevent malnutrition and dehydration.

We determined that staffing levels were adequate and ensured that people’s needs were met and that they had not been placed at risk of harm through inadequate supervision or care provision.

We saw that complaints processes were in place for people or their relatives to use if they were not happy with the service provided.

There were seven people using the service on the day of our inspection. We met with six people however some people were unable to tell us their experiences of the service due to their communication needs. Therefore, we spent time observing how staff interacted with and supported them. We spoke with five members of staff, the manager and the operations manager and looked at four people’s records.

Staff communicated with each person in a way that they understood so they could be involved in making choices about their lives.

We observed that people were encouraged to do things for themselves, so promoting their independence skills.

Records sampled stated and staff spoken with knew how to support people to meet their needs.

Systems were in place to ensure that people were safeguarded from harm. We saw that people were comfortable in the company of staff. One person told us they liked staying at the home. They said, "If I went anywhere else I wouldn't like it."

Staff received the training they needed so they knew how to support the people using the service. There had been recent staff changes as a result of another service within the trust closing. Staff told us they had not been supported through this process, however, managers assured us that this had been identified and improvements to communication with staff were being made.

The people using the service and their relatives were asked for their views about the service and these were listened to.