The Laurels is a residential care home for people living with dementia. The accommodation is spread over two floors with the main communal areas situated on the ground floor. The home is registered to support up to 23 people. At the time of our inspection there were 20 people living in the home.

At the last inspection on 20 November 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People continued to receive their care and support from sufficient numbers of staff that provided their care in a way that maintained their safety. People could be assured that they would receive their prescribed medicines safely. Staff were knowledgeable in the steps that they should take if they felt people were at risk of harm and were confident in taking action to safeguard people.

Staff had received the training, support and supervision that they needed to provide people’s care. People were support to eat and drink enough. Staff worked closely with people’s allocated healthcare professionals and made referrals promptly to other professionals or agencies when required.

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

People had developed positive relationships with the staff providing their care and could be assured that they would be treated with dignity and respect. People were involved in the planning of their care and the care that people received was tailored to their individual preferences.

People knew how to make a complaint and were confident that appropriate action would be taken in response to their feedback.

The management team was visible throughout the home and the registered manager who was also the provider knew people well. Staff felt well supported, understood and articulated the registered managers vision for the service and provided consistently person centred care and support to the people living at The Laurels.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

We inspected The Laurels on 20 November 2014 and this was an unannounced inspection.

The Laurels provides accommodation for up to 23 older people to provide accommodation with personal care. There were 19 people living in the home when we carried out our inspection some of whom experience dementia related needs and complex care needs.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor how a provider applies the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way. This is usually to protect themselves. At the time of the inspection no people had had their freedom restricted.

People who lived in the home were happy with the care they received. They felt safe living in the home and said there enough staff to meet their needs. Staff treated them with kindness and respected their privacy and dignity.

Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs.

We found that people were provided with a choice of nutritious meals. When necessary, people were given extra help to make sure that they had enough to eat and drink.

People had access to other healthcare professionals such as a GP and a chiropodist. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required.

People and their relatives were aware of how to raise any issues or concerns. They told us that the registered manager was available to talk with and took action to address any concerns.

People told us that they had no concerns about the home or the care they had received. A person that used the service said, ‘’I like it here, the staff are kind and always help me.’’ A visitor told us, ‘’My relative is well cared for and has all their needs met.''

We found that care plans were individualised to each person and were reviewed regularly.

We found that appropriate checks were made before staff worked at the home.

The provider had a process to check the quality of care given to people that lived at the home.

We visited this service on 29 October 2012 and indentified issues. We found people were not asked for their opinion of the service and were not aware of how to raise complaints. Staff were not aware of how to raise concerns with the local authority safeguarding team. Staff training records were not available.

When we visited on 25 February 2013 we saw staff had completed training in safeguarding vulnerable adults from abuse. The staff information file had been updated and contained information on how to raise safeguarding concerns within the home and externally.

Records showed staff training was up to date and refresher training had been arranged where appropriate.

Records showed and a relative told us they had been asked for their opinions on the home. The provider had raised people’s awareness of how to make a complaint.

As part of our inspection we spoke with people who lived at the Laurels. They spoke positively about the care they received.

We observed staff giving safe care to people. People were spoken to in a polite manner. We saw care staff respected people at all times.

We saw people’s bedrooms. Most people had personal photographs and ornaments on display. The provider told us people were encouraged to have their own possessions.

We also spoke with visiting relatives. Some relatives told us they did not know how to complain. Others said they would speak to the owners if they had a concern.

People and their families were not asked their opinion about the service. There were no resident or relative meetings or satisfaction surveys.

We saw staff did not receive regular supervision or appraisals.

Staff told us the home managers were supportive. One said, “They always have an open door for us. It’s made us a really good team.

On the day we visited there were 19 people living at The Laurels.

People told us they were happy living at The Laurels. One person told us, “They look after us very well, there are nice meals, nice clean beds and they are very helpful.” While another person told us, “It’s very good I’ve been very happy here.”

People told us that the home let them choose how the spent their time, one person said, “I have lunch in my room or the dinning room, it’s nice to have the choice.”