Froome Bank

On the day of our inspection eighteen people were living at the home.

People continued to benefit from living in a home where staff understood the risks to their safety and where they were protected from avoidable harm, discrimination and abuse. Staff supported people to stay as safe as possible as their needs and their safety needs changed. People were supported to have the equipment they needed to remain safe, and staff encouraged people to use this. Safe staff recruitment processes were used, to further reduce risks to people and there were enough staff to meet people's care and safety needs. People did not have to wait long if they needed any assistance from staff, and people were confident staff would help them when they wanted.

There were systems in place to support people to have the medicines they needed to remain safe and well. Senior staff regularly checked people were administered their medicines safely. Staff were not allowed to administer people's medicines until they had received the training they needed, and their competency had been checked. The registered manager and provider had put systems in place to review any untoward incidents, take any learning from these and reduce risk to people further.

People continued to receive an effective service and people were supported by staff who had received training and developed the skills needed to assist people. Staff assessed people's needs and used this information to help people to settle into the home quickly. People made their own decisions about what they wanted to eat and drink. Where people needed additional support to have enough to eat and drink to remain well, this was discreetly provided by staff. People were confident if they needed any health care from other organisations staff would arrange this. 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. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) were followed.

People liked the staff who cared for them and told us the staff were kind. People were treated with respect, and their rights to independence and privacy were acted on by staff. Staff knew what was important to people and encouraged them to make their own decisions about their day to day care. Staff used different ways of communicating with people, based on their preferences, where people needed extra support to make some decisions. People were supported by staff who understood how they liked to be reassured, when this was needed.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People's needs were reflected in the care plans developed with them and their relatives, which were regularly reviewed. Staff adjusted people's care plans as their

wishes and needs changed. Relatives were asked for their views on the care to be offered. People's care plans reflected advice provided by external health and social care professionals.

Some people enjoyed the independence of spending their time doing things they enjoyed on their own, such as reading and chatting to other people who lived at Froome Bank. Other people liked support from staff to do interesting things, and have trips out. The registered manager planned to review people's access to activities, so they could be assured people would continue to enjoy a breadth of fun things to do at the time right for them.

Systems were in place to support people to raise any concerns or make any complaints. None of the people or their relatives had wanted to make any complaints because they considered the care provided was good. People also told us they were confident to talk to staff if they had any suggestions for developing their care or the services provided at the home, further. Staff worked effectively with other health and social care professionals so people's wishes at the end of their lives were met.

The registered manager and provider checked the quality of people's care, to ensure people were receiving safe and compassionate assistance. Where suggestion for developing the home and people's care further had been made by people, their relatives and staff, these were actioned. These included further enhancement of the environment at the home, and improvements in the meals provided. People, their relatives and staff felt listened to by the senior team. The registered manager and provider recognised and celebrated the achievements of people living at the home and the staff supporting them.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found