Wyndthorpe Hall and Gardens Care Home is registered to provide accommodation, nursing and personal care for up to 82 people. The home is comprised of two buildings, is set in extensive grounds and is divided into three units. The two units in the main building are referred to as the Hall and the Court. The unit referred to as the Gardens is a short walk from the main building. The two units, the Court and the Gardens specialise in accommodating people living with dementia. The home is situated in the Dunsville area of Doncaster and has access to shops, public transport and other amenities. There were 29 people living in the Hall and Court and 27 at Wyndthorpe Gardens, making a total of 56 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

This inspection took place on 28 June 2018. At the last inspection, the service was rated overall as requires improvement. You can read the report from our last inspections, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Wyndthorpe Hall and Gardens Care Home’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk. At this inspection we found the service had improved to good.

There was a registered manager who had been in post for just over 12 months. 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.

Care and support was planned and delivered in a way that made sure people were safe. People were protected, as any risks associated with their care were identified and appropriately managed. Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse.

There was enough staff employed to meet the needs of the people living at the home at the time of our inspection. The process for recruiting new staff ensured they were suitable to carry out their roles and responsibilities in a safe manner. Staff were trained and supported to develop their skills and provide people with the standard of care they required.

The systems in place to make sure people’s medication was managed safely had been improved and were effective. Medication was administered by staff who had completed appropriate training.

Staff received training and support to enable them to meet people’s needs. 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 received a varied and healthy diet that offered choice and had good access to community healthcare services.

Staff supported people in a compassionate, caring, responsive and friendly manner. They encouraged people to be as independent as possible, while taking into consideration their abilities and any risks associated with their care. The people we spoke with made positive comments about how staff delivered care and said they were happy with the way the home was managed.

People’s needs had been assessed and care plans put in place to highlight where they needed support, and telling staff how each person preferred their care to be delivered. People’s care had been reviewed regularly to make sure plans reflected people’s changing needs. There was a range of activities and events people were supported to take part in. Complaints were dealt with in a fair and timely way.

The systems in place to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the service had been improved and were effective. This included obtaining people’s views and checking staff were following the correct procedures. Further improvements to the premises were underway with a clear action plan as to what areas needed attention.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Wyndthorpe Hall & Gardens Care Home is registered to provide accommodation, nursing and personal care for up to 82 people. The home is comprised of two separate buildings, is set in extensive grounds and is divided into three units. Two units, the Court and the Gardens accommodate people living with dementia. The home is situated in the Dunsville area of Doncaster and has access to shops, public transport and other amenities.

This inspection took place on 6 July 2017 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since it was taken over by the current registered provider. At the time of the inspection 80 people were living in the home.

There was no registered manager at the time of the 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The provider had appointed a new manager, who had started work a number of weeks before the inspection. The manager told us they were preparing to apply to become registered.

We found that medication was not well managed in the Hall and Court parts of the home.

For the most part assessments identified potential risks to people, and management plans were in place to reduce these risks. However, this was not always the case for everyone, and in some cases, the records staff kept about the care they delivered to people were not sufficiently detailed.

It was a very warm day and we noticed a smell of urine in two particular areas of the home. However, all other parts of the home looked clean and did not smell.

For the most part, positive caring relationships were developed with people who used the service. Staff spoke to people respectfully, and in a gentle and caring way.

People told us they felt safe living at the home. Recruitment processes were safe and we saw there were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

Most of the feedback from people living in the home and their visiting relatives was complimentary regarding how nice the staff were, and about the care that people received.

Staff completed an induction and essential training at the beginning of their employment. This was followed by additional training and periodic refresher sessions, although there was a need to provide training to staff in caring for people at the end of their life. Staff also received support and supervision to help them meet people’s needs.

People said they were happy with the meals provided, and drinks and snacks were available between mealtimes.

For the most part people were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People had been involved in planning their or their family members’ care. In most cases, care plans reflected people’s needs and had been reviewed and updated to reflect their changing needs.

People had access to social activities, as well as outings into the community.

There was a system in place to tell people how to raise concerns and how these would be managed. People told us they had no complaints, but would feel comfortable raising any concerns with the manager.

There were systems in place to assess if the home was operating correctly, however these had not been effective as they had failed to identify the shortfalls we found at this inspection, including some inconsistencies in staff practice.

Although people using the service and their relatives told us they were involved and consulted about the care, they had not been provided with specific forums to share their opinions, such as ‘residents’ or ‘relatives’ meetings. There had been asked to fill in any quality surveys since the new registered provider had taken ov