York Lodge

People received safe care and support from staff who had been appropriately recruited, trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. One person said, "I feel safe here." A visitor told us, "Staff are very vigilant about peoples' safety, good security." People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. We saw that people were supported to be as independent as possible with the use of walking aids and specialised cutlery for eating. We observed medicines being given safely to people by trained and knowledgeable staff, who had been assessed as competent. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. The provider used a dependency tool to determine staffing levels. Staffing levels were regularly reviewed following falls or changes in a person's health condition. Safe recruitment practices had been followed before staff started working at the service.

Staff had all received training to meet people's specific needs. During induction, they got to know people and their needs well. One staff member said, "It's really lovely here, everyone works as a team to make sure we support people in the safest and best way. We got lots of training to do this." People's nutritional and health needs were consistently met with involvement from a variety of health and social care professionals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Everyone we spoke to was consistent in their views that staff were kind, caring and supportive. One visitor said, "Very kind and polite staff, the atmosphere is good, I feel welcomed every time I visit." People were relaxed, comfortable and happy in the company of staff. People's independence was considered important

by all staff and their privacy and dignity was promoted.

Staff were committed to delivering care in a person-centred way based on people's preferences and wishes. There was a stable staff team who were knowledgeable about the people they supported and had built trusting and meaningful relationships with them. Activities were tailor-made to people's preferences and interests. People were encouraged to go out and form relationships with family and members of the community. Staff knew people's communication needs well and we observed them using a variety of tools, such as method sign language, pictures and objects of reference, to gain their views.

People were involved in their care planning. End of life care planning and documentation guided staff in providing care at this important stage of people's lives. End of life care was delivered empathetically and with respect and dignity.

People, their relatives and health care professionals had the opportunity to share their views about the service. Complaints made by people or their relatives were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. The provider and registered manager were committed to continuously improve and had developed structures and plans to develop and consistently drive improvement within the service and maintain their care delivery to a good standard.