During our inspection we spoke with five people who used the service and one visiting relative. We also spoke with the new manager, visiting quality manager for the provider and two staff. We inspected people's care records, staff training and supervision records and documents relating to the quality of the service and health and safety checks undertaken by the provider. Below is a summary of what we found. During our inspection we looked to see whether we could answer five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led?
Is the service safe?
The provider had effective safeguarding procedures in place to protect people from the risk of abuse or harm.
We looked to see whether there were the right levels of staff working at the service. We found that there were enough staff to meet people's needs.
The service had a safe medication administration system in place. People received their medications on time and staff were trained to support people safely.
The service had a robust recruitment process in place which meant that they checked and ensured that staff were fit and safe to work with vulnerable people.
Systems were in place to make sure that managers and staff learnt from events such as accidents and incidents. This reduced the risks to people and helped the service to improve.
Is the service effective?
People's health and care needs were assessed before they came to the home to determine their needs and make sure the service could meet them effectively. Care plans seen included information about the care and support provided to people such as support with their personal care needs, mobility, behaviour and medication.
We saw arrangements were in place for care plans to be reviewed regularly to make sure information about people's care and support needs remained appropriate and accurate. There was no evidence that people had been involved in the review of their care.
We had concerns about the training staff received. We had concerns related to the information and subjects covered in a recent refresher course staff had taken.
Is the service caring?
We saw staff were attentive to people's needs throughout our inspection. Staff interacted positively with people and gave people time to respond. We found staff showed patience when communicating with people who used the service.
People told us that the staff were caring. One person said about the service and staff, 'Oh yes very happy.' Another said, 'They are very good.' A visiting relative we spoke with told us about staff, "I have nothing but praise for them."
Is the service responsive?
We saw people were able to access help and support from other health and social care professionals when necessary.
Although some activities took place at the time of our inspection there were no evidence in any of the recent records we saw that showed how people were involved and engaged within the service or assisted to access the community.
The service responded well to concerns about the safety of people who used the service. A visiting relative told us that the service always responded to any issues and addressed these.
Most people told us that the service responded to their needs. One person told us, 'The staff are very good, couldn't wish for better.' Another person told us about making their appointments and that the service, 'Have a driver, who takes you to appointments.'
Is the service well-led?
The service had a quality assurance system in place to identify areas of improvement. There were regular audits on medication and the environment.
Records seen by us showed that identified repairs and maintenance were addressed promptly. As a result the quality of the service was continuously improving.
One person spoke to us about the new manager, they told us that when the new manager started they came round and introduced themselves and said, "(Manager) is very good, has time to talk to you and listens."
The staff members we spoke with told us that since the new manager had started things had improved and they felt well supported and able to access the manager for support. However there had been no recent formal arrangements in place for supervision or appraisal which meant that we could not be assured that staff were receiving appropriate professional development and support.