This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 16 and 20 March 2018.

Viera Grey House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home provides accommodation for frail elderly people some of whom may have dementia. It is located in Barnes.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection in February 2016 all the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led were rated good. The overall rating was good.

People and their relatives said the home supplied very good care and support in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. There were suitable numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and they did so in a respectful, compassionate and kind way.

The home’s recording systems were thorough, comprehensive and up to date with regularly reviewed information presented in a clear and easy to understand way.

People and their relatives were encouraged to discuss health needs and had access to community based health professionals as required as well as care staff. People’s diets were balanced, protected them from nutrition and hydration associated risks and also met their likes, dislikes and preferences. Most people and their relatives told us the meals provided were of good quality and there were choices available. Staff prompted people to eat their meals and drink as required whilst enabling them to eat at their own pace and enjoy their meals.

The home was clean, well-furnished and maintained and provided a safe environment for people to live and staff to work in.

Staff had a thorough knowledge of the people they supported and appropriate skills and training to meet people’s needs competently. They provided people with individualised care that was provided in a professional, friendly and supportive way.

Staff were aware of their responsibility to treat people equally and respect their diversity and human rights. They treated everyone equally and fairly whilst recognising and respecting people’s differences.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) required the provider to submit applications to a ‘Supervisory body’ for authority. Applications had been submitted by the provider and applications under DoLS had been authorised, and the provider was complying with the conditions applied to the authorisation.

Staff said the registered manager and organisation provided good support and there were opportunities for career advancement.

People and their relatives thought the registered manager and staff were approachable, responsive and encouraged feedback from people.

The home had systems that consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.

This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 2 and 3 February 2016.

Viera Gray House is a care home with accommodation for frail elderly people some of whom may have dementia.

The home had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This was the first inspection following the change of ownership to a new provider. At this inspection the home met the regulations inspected against.

People and their relatives said the home provided a good service, there was no discernible difference in the standards of care by the new providers and they enjoyed living at Viera Grey House. Many of the staff had been retained and were friendly, caring, attentive and provided the care and support people needed and in a way they liked. They thought the home’s atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable.

The new providers were using the same recording systems as they gradually introduced new ones to promote continuity of care for people as staff were familiar with the systems in place. We looked at a sample of records that were clearly recorded, comprehensive, regularly reviewed and up to date. This enabled staff to continue to perform their duties well. People and their relatives were encouraged to discuss health needs with staff if they wished and they had access to community based health professionals, as required. They were protected from nutrition and hydration associated risks with balanced diets that also met their likes, dislikes and preferences. People said there was a variety of well-presented meal choices, the quality of the food was good and it was the type of food they liked.

The home was well maintained, comfortably furnished, clean and provided a safe environment for people to live and staff to work in.

There was a thorough staff recruitment process that files demonstrated was followed. The staff knew people using the service well and were familiar with their likes, dislikes, wishes and needs. Staff had appropriate skills, training and were focussed on providing individualised care and support in a professional, friendly and supportive way. They said they were well supported by the management team who were approachable, open and honest. People using the service and relatives said they felt comfortable talking with the management team, who were responsive to their views and encouraged feedback from them. We saw that the home consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.