West Hallam Care Home provides personal and nursing care and accommodation for up to 31 people. On the day of the inspection the manager informed us that 19 people were living at the home.

This was the first inspection of the service since the reregistration 12 months previously. The inspection took place on 14 and 15 December 2017. The first day of the inspection was unannounced.

A registered manager was not in post at the time of the inspection visit. This is a condition of the registration of the service. Since the inspection visit, the manager has been registered. 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's risk assessments provided staff with information on how to support people safely, though some assessments were not fully in place. Lessons to prevent incidents occurring had not been comprehensively learnt from past events.

Staff had been trained in safeguarding (protecting people from abuse) and understood their responsibilities in this area. Staff were subject to checks to ensure they were appropriate to work with the people who used the service. People were protected from the risks of infection.

People using the service and relatives we spoke with said they thought the home was safe.

People using the service told us they thought their medicines were given safely and on time and this had been the case when we checked.

Staff had been trained to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people's needs. Staff understood their main responsibility under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to allow, as much as possible, people to have an effective choice about how they lived their lives.

People had plenty to eat and drink and everyone told us they liked the food served.

People's health care needs had been protected by referrals to health care professionals when necessary.

People told us they liked the staff and got on well with them. We saw many examples of staff working with people in a friendly and caring way. People and their representatives were involved in making decisions about their care, treatment and support.

Care plans were individual to the people using the service and covered their health and social care needs. Activities were organised to provide stimulation for people and they had opportunities to take part in activities in the community if they chose.

People and their relatives told us they would tell staff if they had any concerns and were confident these would be followed up.

People and staff we spoke with were satisfied with how the home was run by the registered manager. Management carried out audits and checks to ensure the home was running properly to meet people's needs.