The Westcliff Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. This service does not provide nursing care. The Westcliff Care Home accommodates up to 26 older people, with a range of needs catered for, including dementia, in one adapted building. There were 25 people living in the service when we inspected on 12 February 2018. This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection.

At our last inspection of 18 January 2016 the service was rated 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 of the service has not changed since our last inspection. However, improvements had been made in Responsive, which is now rated as Outstanding.

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 service provided an extremely responsive service to people. People received care and support which was assessed, planned for and delivered to meet their specific individual needs. People were supported to participate in meaningful activities, which were creative and met people’s needs and preferences. Social inclusion supported people to live a full life as possible. A complaints procedure was in place. People were actively to give their views about the service and these were used to drive improvement. There were systems in place to support people at the end of their life.

The service continued to provide a safe service to people. This included systems designed to minimise the risks to people in their daily living. People were provided with their medicines safely. Staff were available when people needed assistance. The recruitment of staff was done safely. The service was clean and hygienic.

The service continued to provide an effective service to people. People were supported by staff who were trained and supported to meet their 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’s dietary needs continued to be assessed and met and people had access to health professionals when needed. The environment was suitable for the people living there.

The service continued to provide a caring service to people. People had good relationships with the staff. Staff interacted with people in a caring manner. People were consulted about the care and support that they received.

The service continued to provide a well-led service to people. The service had a quality assurance system and shortfalls were identified and addressed. As a result the quality of the service continued to improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The Westcliff Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 33 older people, some living with dementia.

There were 26 people living in the service when we inspected on 18 January 2016. This was an unannounced inspection.

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.

There were procedures and processes in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. Risk assessments provided guidance to staff on how risks to people were minimised. There were appropriate arrangements in place to ensure people’s medicines were stored and administered safely.

Staff were trained and supported to meet the needs of the people who used the service. Staff were available when people needed assistance, care and support. The recruitment of staff was done to make sure that they were suitable to work in the service.

The service was up to date with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People’s nutritional needs were assessed and met. People were supported to see, when needed, health and social care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment.

Staff had good relationships with people who used the service and were attentive to their needs. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity at all times and interacted with people in a caring, respectful and professional manner.

People were provided with personalised care and support which was planned to meet their individual needs. People, or their representatives, were involved in making decisions about their care and support.

A complaints procedure was in place. People’s concerns and complaints were listened to, addressed in a timely manner and used to improve the service.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in providing safe and good quality care to the people who used the service. The service had a quality assurance system and shortfalls were addressed promptly. As a result the quality of the service continued to improve.

We talked with three of the people who used the service and two of their relatives. People told us that they liked living there, that the care staff showed them respect and looked after them well. They also told us that they were comfortable. One person told us, "I’m OK, I don’t need to complain." Another person told us that they were happy with the service they received and that, "The food is good, I get all I need." One person’s relative told us that, “My (relative) looks good and says (they) are happy here.”

To enable us to assess people's wellbeing, we spent time sitting with them observing the care they received and the level of staff interaction. We observed that the staff were attentive to people's needs. Staff interacted with the people who used the service in a friendly, respectful and professional manner.

We saw that people were provided with suitable and nutritious food and drink and that, if they needed extra support to maintain their weight, people had been referred to the dietitian and that their advice had been followed.

We looked the recruitment records of three members of staff. They contained the information required to establish that the person concerned was suitable for the role for which they had been employed and that safeguarding checks had been carried out before they started work.

All the records we looked at were complete, up to date and stored securely.

We spoke with three people who used the service. They told us that they were happy with the service provided, the staff treated them with respect, that the service was warm enough and clean and tidy. One person said, "I am quite comfortable here." Another person said, "The staff here are very kind." Another said, "I am happy here, they (staff) don't push you to do anything that you don't want to do."

We saw a staff member doing an art activity with a group of people. One person said, "(The staff member) is very good, you should see us playing hockey with our sticks."

The purpose of this inspection was to check that improvements had been made with infection control which we identified at our last inspection of 28 December 2012. We found that improvements had been made and people were provided with a clean and hygienic environment to live in.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service had found that there were shortfalls in the fire safety arrangements in the service. They had issued an action plan which identified the improvements that needed to be implemented. During our inspection we found that improvements were being made. We wrote to the provider to ask for the dates of when the work was to be completed. The provider responded and provided the information requested. We were satisfied that the provider had taken swift and reasonable action to implement the improvements.

We spoke with ten people who used the service. They told us that they were happy living in the service and felt that their needs were met. One person said, "I am ever so happy here. I am pleased with the care." Another person said, "I am quite satisfied." People told us that the staff treated them with respect and listened to them and acted on what they said. One person said, "They (staff) are very good." Another person said, "They (staff) are kind."

We saw that staff interacted with people who used the service in a respectful, caring and professional manner. Staff were attentive to the needs of people and responded to requests for assistance promptly.

We looked at the care records of four people who used the service and found that people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

We noted shortfalls in the infection control in the service which needed to be addressed.

People we spoke with told us that "Staff are very good", and "They are kind".

People using the service told us that the home was clean and the staff were very good. Those, who were able, could choose to take part in a range of activities. Some liked going out of the home.