This inspection took place on 9 September 2015 and was unannounced. Regent Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 64 older people. There were 59 people who were living at Regent Care Home on the day of our visit.
The home has 64 bedrooms and people have their own en-suite facilities. The communal areas of the home consisted of lounges, dining rooms and a quiet lounge that can be used for private visits and events.
There is one unit on the ground floor which provides personal care and accommodation called St Clement’s. Two units are located on the first floor, St Michael’s and St David’s. St Michael’s provides personal care and accommodation. St David’s provides support to people living with dementia.
There was a registered manager in place 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People lived in a safe environment as staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff were aware of the signs of abuse and knew how to report this. Staff made sure risk assessments were in place and took actions to minimise risks without taking away people’s right to make decisions.
People told us there were enough staff on duty to meet their needs and help them when they needed assistance. People told us that they knew the staff team well. People’s medicines were administered and managed in a safe way. We found that medicines were handled and stored in a safe way. People received care and support in a way that met their preferences and needs and we saw people smiling when staff approached them. Care and support was provided to people with their consent and agreement.
We found people were encouraged to eat and drink enough to keep them healthy, and that dietary requirements and people’s preferences were taken into account. People told us that they enjoyed the food and drinks provided.
We found that people had access to healthcare professionals, such as the district and practice nurses and their doctor when they needed them, and we saw that staff took action if people required medical care.
We saw that people were involved in the planning around their care when they wanted to be. People’s views and decisions they had made about their care were listened to and acted upon. People told us that staff treated them kindly, with dignity and their privacy was respected.
We found that people and their relatives knew how to raise concerns and that these had been responded to. No formal complaints had been made about the service, but we saw that information was available to tell people and their relatives how they could do this if they needed to.
The registered manager demonstrated clear leadership. Staff were supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively, which meant that people received care in a way that meet their needs and wishes. We also found that communication had been encouraged between people, relatives, staff and the management team, which improved the effectiveness and responsiveness of the care provided to people.
We found that the checks the provider completed looked at people’s experience of care, and that people, relatives and staff were encouraged to suggest improvements that could be made, and we saw that suggestions made were acted upon. Where areas for improvement were identified, systems were in place to ensure that lessons were learnt and used to improve staff practice.