Wentworth Hall is a residential care home providing support and accommodation for up to 23 people. The home is situated in the village of Wentworth which is approximately six miles from Rotherham. Bedroom facilities are provided on the ground and first floor level of the building. Access to the first floor is by a lift. There are ample communal areas including a lounge, conservatory and a separate dining room. There is a car park at the front of the building and gardens to the rear.

At the last inspection in August 2015, the service was rated Good. At our inspection of 28 November 2017, we found the service remained Good. The service met all relevant fundamental standards.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Wentworth Hall’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

The service 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about how to ensure people were safe. People we spoke with felt safe living at the home. People received their medicines as prescribed, by staff who were appropriately trained to complete this task. Risks associated with people’s care and welfare were identified and plans were in place to help minimise the risk from occurring. The provider had a safe recruitment system in place to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Staff received training which provided them with the necessary skills and knowledge to complete their role and responsibilities. Staff felt supported by the management team. The service was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they were happy with the meal provision at the home. We saw meals, drinks and snacks were provided throughout the day. People had access to healthcare professionals when required.

People were happy with the care and support they received and told us the staff were kind and caring. Staff were respectful of people and knew how to maintain people’s privacy and dignity.

People were involved in their care and care records were reflective of people’s current needs. A range of social activities were provided within the home, however some people commented that they would like some trips out. The registered provider had a complaints procedure and people felt comfortable in raising concerns with staff and the registered manager.

The service conducted regular audits to ensure the service was operating to sufficient standards. Any concerns were addressed in a timely way. People had the opportunity to voice their opinions about the service and they felt listened to. There was a good sense of leadership at all levels. The senior team managed the home in an effective way.

The inspection took place on 18 August 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected the service in September 2014 when it was found to be meeting the Regulations we assessed.

Wentworth Hall is situated in the village of Wentworth which is approximately six miles from the town of Rotherham. The home provides personal care for up to 23 older people. Bedroom facilities are provided on the ground and first floor level; of the building. Access to the first floor is by a lift. There are ample communal areas including a lounge, small conservatory and a separate dining area. There is a car park at the front of the building and gardens to the rear.

The service had 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they were very happy with the care and support they received. The staff we spoke with understood people’s needs and preferences extremely well. We saw they supported people in a caring, patient and empowering manner while encouraged them to express their opinions and choices, while supporting them to be as independent as possible.

The provider had effective systems in place to ensure people’s safety, this included staff’s knowledge and training in relation to safeguarding people from abuse. We found medicines were handled safely by staff who had received suitable training and exhibited good knowledge.

We saw there was enough skilled and experienced staff on duty to meet people’s needs. We found staff had been recruited using a robust system that made sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. They had received a structured induction and essential training at the beginning of their employment. This had been followed by regular refresher training to update their knowledge and skills.

People received a well-balanced diet and were involved in choosing what they ate. The people we spoke with said they were happy with the meals provided. We saw specialist dietary needs had been assessed and catered for.

People’s needs had been assessed before they moved into the home and they had been involved in formulating and updating their care plan. The three care files we checked were individualised and reflected people’s needs and preferences in good detail. Care plans and risk assessments had been reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

People told us in-house social activities were available, as well as occasional trips into the community. They said they also enjoyed going out with relatives.

People told us they had no complaints but would feel comfortable speaking to staff if they had any concerns. We saw the complaints policy was readily available to people using or visiting the service.

There were systems in place to enable people to share their opinion of the service provided and the general facilities at the home. We also saw an audit system had been used to check if the company policies had been followed and the premise was safe. Where improvements were needed we saw the provider had taken action plans to address these.

Our inspection looked at our five questions; is the service caring? Is the service responsive? Is the service safe? Is the service effective? Is the service well led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, speaking with the staff supporting them and looking at records.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

We saw people using the service were treated with respect and dignity by the staff who had a good knowledge of their needs and preferences. Care and support was delivered in a safe way by staff who had received appropriate training.

Records were in place to monitor any specific areas where people were more at risk.

The company had policies and procedures in place to help protect people who used the service from abuse. We found staff had received training in relation to safeguarding vulnerable people from abuse.

Systems were in place to make sure that managers and staff learn from events such as accidents and incidents, complaints, concerns, whistleblowing and investigations. This reduced the risks to people and helped the service to continually improve.

Is the service effective?

People’s health and care needs were assessed on a regular basis. We saw people who used the service and their relatives had been involved in writing plans of care and these were reviewed and updated regularly.

People received a well-balanced diet and were involved in choosing what they ate. The people we spoke with said they were very happy with the meals provided. Specialist dietary needs had been assessed and catered for.

Staff had access to a varied training programme to ensure they could meet the needs of the people they supported. Staff told us they were well supported by the manager and attended regular staff meetings. However, records did not demonstrate that formal support sessions or an annual appraisal of staffs’ work had taken place consistently.

Is the service caring?

People told us they were supported by helpful, caring and friendly staff. We saw staff interacting with people in a positive way, enabling them to be as independent as possible while offering on-going support.

Care files contained person centred information that reflected people’s needs and preferences. We saw care and support had been provided in accordance with people’s wishes.

Satisfaction surveys and meetings had been used to enable people to share their views on the service provided. This helped the provider to assess if people were receiving the care and support they needed. People’s comments indicated they were happy with how staff supported them, and the home’s facilities.

Is the service responsive?

Care records demonstrated that when there had been changes in people’s needs outside agencies had been involved to make sure they received the correct care and support. For example, one person who was losing weight had been referred to a healthcare professional and nutritional supplements provided.

People who used and visited the service knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. No-one raised any concerns with us when we visited the service. People we spoke with said when any requests were made staff were quick to respond to them.

Is the service well-led?

At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager in post who had worked at the home for a long time. She told us senior care staff and the owners provided managerial support in her absence.

People who completed surveys in 2014 had written comments such as “The manager is very approachable”, “Extremely satisfied”, and “Wentworth Hall is a pleasure, clean and well run.”

There was a quality assurance system in place to assess if the home was operating correctly. This included surveys and audits. We saw action plans had been put in place to address any shortfalls.

Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. We saw staff had access to policies and procedure to inform and guide them. Staff training and development needs had been assessed to enable the provider to arrange future training sessions.

We spoke with seven people who used the service. They 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. People said, “I would rather live in my own home but this is the best home, with caring friendly staff that always respects my wishes.” Another person said, "The staff helped me to settle in, they were so kind and supportive."

People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights. People had detailed care and treatment plans relating to all aspects of their care needs. One person said, "Staff know just how to care for me, they are professional in all that they do."

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. People we spoke with had no concerns with the cleanliness of the service.

The people who lived in the home were kept safe because the provider had taken steps to maintain the building and we saw that regular health and safety checks had been carried out.

People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. Appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff started work. This included being registered with the relevant professional bodies.

People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because their records had been reviewed and updated regularly.

We spoke with five people who used the service. They 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. One person said, “This is the best home, staff are great and the food is fantastic.”

We also used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. This included observing care, looking at records and talking to staff.

We also spoke with the relatives of two people using the service. They told us they were happy with the care provided. They said they were kept informed about any changes to their relatives care and treatment. Relatives knew how to raise concerns and felt their concerns were acted on swiftly. One relative told us that the home had arranged for their father to use a computer to communicate with them.

People we spoke with told us that staff were kind and always treated them with respect. One person said “I like living here, staff know their jobs and they are very professional.”

We found medication was administered safely to people. People were given appropriate support were required, to ensure they had taken their medication. People were given choices which enabled them to self medicate.

Staff received appropriate support and training to ensure they were able to meet the needs of people living at the home.

Complaints were investigated and responded to in a timely manner.

People told us they were very happy living at Wentworth Hall. They said they liked the activities and “The food was better than any pub or restaurant.” One person told us they were able to walk through the church grounds to the garden centre and it was a lovely setting. People described the care as excellent, and the staff knew just how to care for them.