Choices Housing Association Limited - 4 West Street

Choices 4 West Street is a care home, people in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Choices 4 West Street can accommodate four people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection there were four people living in the care home.

There was a registered manager in post 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.

People were supported by staff that understood how to protect them from harm and abuse. Risks were assessed and there was guidance for staff on how to support people to manage risks to their safety. The home was clean and all equipment was safely maintained. There were sufficient staff to support people and safe recruitment practices were in place. Medicines were administered safely and when things went wrong the registered manager made sure staff learnt from the incident.

People received support which was effective from trained staff. Staff were supervised and their competency was checked by the registered manager. 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 support this practice. People could choose for their meals and they enjoyed them. People were supported in an environment that was designed to meet their needs and had access to health professionals when they needed it.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. There were positive relationships in place and people felt they were supported to make their own decisions. Relatives and friends were able to visit when they wanted to and people had their privacy and dignity maintained.

People received personalised care and support. Staff understood people's needs and preferences including their spiritual and cultural needs and were able to plan how they would wish to be supported at the end of their life. People were supported to maintain links in the community and undertake activities. There was a complaints policy in place which people understood and they were confident complaints would be addressed.

A registered manager was in post and was accessible to people, relatives and staff. People were actively

involved in the service and shared their views about the quality. There were systems in place to check on the quality of the service and peoples care delivery. The registered manager took any required action to make improvements.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found