About the service:

Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection. Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly provides a service for up to 20 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 19 people living at the service. Accommodation is provided over two floors and people have access to communal areas.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People lived in an environment that was in need of re-decoration.

• Staff understood the risks to people and the measures in place to keep them safe. Systems were in place to manage people's medicines safely and to reduce the risks associated with the spread of infection.

• Staff received training that gave them the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their roles and meet the specific needs of people using the service. There were enough staff on duty to deliver support to each person in the way they wanted.

• People were supported to maintain good health. Staff made referrals to health professionals when required.

• People were provided with the care, support and equipment they needed to stay independent. Staff were kind and caring and had developed good relationships with people using the service.

• People were supported to maintain their health and had access to food and drink based on their individual choice and preferences. People had access to a range of activities in the community and within the service, that reflected their culture and interests.

• Care plans guided staff to provide support that met people's needs which were in line with their preferences.

• People's privacy, dignity and rights were respected and upheld. People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible

• Systems were in place to monitor the service, which ensured that people's risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service, where people and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to people's care.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (report published 25 August 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The unannounced inspection took place on the 15 June 2016.

Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly provides accommodation which offers personal care to older people. There were 19 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

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.

The service was in need of maintenance and re-decoration but the manager confirmed that a plan was in place and in some areas improvements had already commenced.

Staff had good knowledge of their responsibilities and how to keep people safe. People’s rights were also protected because management and staff understood the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Management applied such measures appropriately. Applications for DoLS referrals had been completed when required.

Effective support was delivered by staff. People’s safety was ensured whilst personal choice and wellbeing was promoted by the staff providing the care. As part of a robust recruitment process staff were recruited and employed upon completion of appropriate checks. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s individual needs. People’s medicines were managed safely by trained staff.

People had enough to eat and drink and staff understood and met their nutritional needs. Staff and managers ensured access to healthcare services were readily available to people and worked with a range of health professionals to maintain good health of the people.

Privacy and dignity was valued by staff and they were respectful and compassionate towards people. Staff understood their roles in relation to encouraging people’s independence. People were well cared for and they enjoyed full and meaningful activities and interests.

The service was well led. The service ran effectively using quality monitoring audits which the registered manager and provider carried out to identify health needs and any improvements to the service. A complaints procedure was in place and had been used appropriately by management. Systems were in place to make sure that people’s views were gathered.

We found that staff had a good understanding of people's individual needs. We saw that people were treated respectfully, their individuality and diversity understood. The interaction we saw between staff and people was relaxed, friendly and inclusive.

Staff we spoke with said they thought they had been properly recruited. They also thought they received training in subject areas that were appropriate for the needs of the people who used the service. Staff told us that they received good support in their roles.

People had the opportunity to take part in regular activities in the service and, with staff support, were able to get out and about in the local community.

We saw that people’s care and support was planned and reviewed regularly. Risks to the health, welfare and safety of the person were identified and managed.

People we spoke with, who were using the service, told us that they were satisfied with how they were treated, with the level of support provided and with the facilities available. One person told us, "I think this is a very good home, the staff are excellent to me, they ask me if there’s anything I need and they are kind and thoughtful.” Another person said, “The food is really quite good and there is always enough for me to eat. My room is kept clean for me and I choose what things I wish to have in my room."

One person said, "The staff are good here and will check with us if there is anything we need.”

People we spoke with told us that they were very happy living at Westerley Residential Care Home. People said that staff treated them very well, that they were respected by all staff and that they were able to be involved in making decisions about the care and support that they received.

We saw that people's needs for their health and personal care were assessed and that there were detailed care plans in place to assist staff in supporting and caring for people safely and effectively. Staff we spoke with were aware of each person's individual needs and their preferences for how they were supported.

People told us that they felt safe living at Westerley Residential Care Home. They told us that they knew how to raise concerns and that staff always treated them well. Staff we spoke with were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from harm and were trained and supported to do so.

We saw that there were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff to care for people properly.

There were arrangements in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service and people had the opportunity to be involved in how the home was managed and to make comments and suggestions for improvements.