The inspection took place on 4th December 2018 and was unannounced.

The Maples is a Residential 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 Maples provides personal care and support for up to 28 people in one adapted building. There were 24 people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 our last inspection, we rated the service Good. At this inspection, we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating has not changed since our last inspection. However, some improvements were needed to the checks in place to ensure people were having good quality care and Well Led was rated as requires Improvement.

People who used the service felt safe. Risk assessments were undertaken and reviewed and staff knew how to manage risk to people effectively. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and staff were recruited safely. Medicine was administered safely.

People’s needs and choices were assessed. Staff were skilled and had the knowledge to deliver effective care. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet. People had access to consistent care and the support of other health professionals when needed. The home had been designed to meet people's different needs.

People were supported to have maximum 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 by kind and caring staff who displayed empathy and compassion. Staff considered communication needs and supported people to express their views. People were supported to maintain their privacy and dignity.

People and their relatives were involved in people’s care. People were supported to follow their interests and their preferences were understood. People and relatives understood how to make a complaint.

People and relatives told us that they found the management team open and approachable. The registered manager was aware of their legal responsibilities. The provider had systems in place to ensure they looked for continual improvement and worked in partnership with other professionals.

The inspection took place on 21 October 2015 and was unannounced.

The Maples provides personal care and support for up to 28 people. There were 27 people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

Our previous inspection on 14 June 2013 identified that the provider was meeting the standards relating to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010

There was a registered manager in post 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.

People’s risks were assessed in a way that kept them safe from the risk of harm. People’s rights to be as independent as possible were respected and promoted.People who used the service received their medicines safely.

We found that there were enough suitably qualified staff provided to meet people’s care and support needs. Staff were trained to carry out their role and were provided with appropriate training. The provider had safe recruitment procedures that ensured people were supported by suitable staff.

Advice had been sought from other agencies to ensure formal authorisations were in place for people who may be restricted. There were other people living in the home who may require a mental capacity assessment and this had not been done.

Staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect. People’s privacy and dignity were maintained and people’s rights upheld.

People were regularly supported with hobbies and interests that were important to them and were assisted to maintain close links with family and friends.

People and/or their representatives were regularly involved in planning and reviewing their care.

The provider had a complaints procedure available for people who used the service and complaints were appropriately managed.

Staff told us they were supported in their role and the registered manager led the team well. Staff received supervision of their practice and had opportunities to meet regularly as teams.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and improve the service. The service was well managed and people felt that the manager and provider were accessible and supportive.

The registered manager of The Maples residential home is Mrs Jill Adams. Mrs Adams details did not appear on the CQC website at the time of publication of this report.

We saw that people were free to make decisions about day to day issues and influence how they spent their time at the home. People were treated with respect and their rights were upheld.

We found that staff had a good knowledge of people’s needs and this reflected what was contained in care records. Information was available to enable staff to keep people safe and provide them with appropriate care.

We saw that medicines were stored correctly and people received the correct medication at the correct times. Medication records were completed correctly.

Staff we spoke with told us that they liked working at The Maples. Staff said they were happy with the training and supervision they received.

The service took account of people’s views and responded to them, although sometimes the service did not always record this in a way which enabled them to evidence it.

People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available. This was because this inspection was part of a themed inspection programme to assess whether older people living in care homes are treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs are met.

The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector joined by an “expert by experience” (people who have experience of using services and who can provide that perspective) and a practising professional.

Many of the people who lived at the home were not able to talk to us directly about their care and support because of their dementia so we used the Short Observational Framework Inspection tool (SOFI) to observe how care and support were delivered. We saw that staff engaged continuously with people, and that people responded positively and took pleasure in staff’s small gestures and conversations.

We talked with seven people who lived at the home, one relative and four staff about the care and support people received. One person we talked with said this was the best decision they had made and they “loved” the place. They told us everything about the Maples was, “Really good, the food and all the staff.”

A relative we spoke with told us their relation had been very well received and the place was, “Very nice and clean” and, “Everyone looked very warm and satisfied”.