Uvedale Hall Residential Home is a care home for up to 29 people some of whom were living with dementia. On the day of our inspection 26 people were living in the service. This attractive Georgian building has been converted to accommodate this care home, which is within walking distance of Needham Market, the home is also close to Needham Lake.

At the last inspection on 19 March 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The people who lived in the service told us that they felt safe and well cared for. They believed that the care workers knew what support they needed and that they were trained to meet those needs and to keep them safe. There were enough staff on duty, including senior staff, catering and housekeeping, to protect people from harm. Risks to people were assessed and steps had been put in place to safeguard people from harm without restricting their independence unnecessarily. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People were asked for their consent by staff before supporting them in their day to day care. Staff were provided with training in Safeguarding Adults from abuse, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The registered manager knew how to make a referral if required. 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 to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. They were also supported to maintain good health and access healthcare services.

We saw many examples of positive and caring interactions between the staff and people living in the service. People were able to express their views and staff listened to what they said and took action to ensure their decisions were acted on. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity.

People received care that was personalised and responsive to their needs. The service listened to people’s experiences, concerns and complaints. They took steps to investigate complaints and to make any changes needed.

The service was well led by a relatively new registered manager who felt they were well supported by the organisation during their introduction into the service. People using the service and the staff they managed told us that the registered manager was open, supportive and had good management skills. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service the organisation offered people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

We carried out this inspection on 19 March 2015. The inspection was unannounced.

Uvedale Hall Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 23 people who require 24 hour support and care.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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 systems in place to provide safe care for people who used the service. There was a robust recruitment process and sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs.

There were suitable arrangements for the safe storage, management and disposal of medicines. We found that, where people lacked capacity to make their own decisions, consent had been obtained in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.

Deprivation of Liberty, best interest assessments were in place to provide staff with guidance to protect people where they do did not have capacity to make decisions and where there freedom had been restricted.

The manager supported staff through regular supervision. Training was provided to develop their skills and knowledge. This meant that staff had the skills they needed to provide effective care and support to people who used the service.

People had their nutrition and hydration needs met through effective planning and development of nutritious menus which were varied and had been developed from assessing the views of people. .

Each person had a care plan which was regularly reviewed and people’s privacy and dignity had been respected.

The service had a complaints procedure which was available for people to use if so required.

The home was led by an effective management team who were committed to providing a quality service which responded to individual needs.

We spoke with eight people who used the service about their experiences of the service they were provided with. People told us that they were happy living in the service. One person said, “I am very happy here.” Another person said, “I could not have come to a better place, I make no bones about it, I think they (staff) are lovely.” Another said, “They do a good job.” Another said, "I have made some great friends here, I am very happy."

We saw that staff interacted with people in a caring, respectful and professional manner. They were attentive to people’s needs 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 found that there were sufficient numbers of staff who were trained to meet the needs of the people who used the service. We looked at four staff member’s personnel records which showed that checks on staff were made before they started work to ensure that they were able to work with vulnerable people.

We found that the provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the care that people were provided with.

The people we spoke to told us they were happy with their care and that of their relatives. We found evidence of clear care planning and delivery and that the choices of the people living here were taken into account. We observed activities taking place in different rooms which were being enjoyed by those taking part. We saw that people had individualised their bedrooms to make them comfortable and familiar. The daily records reflected a wide range of schedules which included a number of regular and spontaneous outings which offered opportunities to access the wider community. We saw that the service is visited by families and other professionals on a regular basis and that they were welcomed by staff.

We found that staff were supported to care for people appropriately. People using the services were offered food which was nutritional and met their needs. People were cared for in an environment that was clean and free from the risk of infection.