Coach House Nursing Home

People's experience of using the service and what we found. People told us they felt safe at Coach House Nursing Home. Staff were trained in safeguarding and understood their responsibility to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse. Risks to people's health and safety were assessed with guidance for staff to follow. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to provide safe and effective care. Overall, medicines were ordered, stored and administered safely in line with people's prescriptions. Accidents and incidents were reported and recorded and there was a new system to audit these for trends or patterns. We were assured by the infection, prevention and control measures.

Assessments of need were carried out prior to people moving in. This information was used to develop care plans. Staff were allocated to work in pairs according to their knowledge, skills and experience and staff gave positive feedback about their training. The chef was aware of people's specific likes and dislikes, allergies and other dietary requirements and we received positive feedback from people and their relatives about the quality of food. Relatives gave positive feedback about people being well nourished. People received external, specialist healthcare support when they needed it. The Coach House Nursing Home provided a homely and warm environment and people were encouraged to decorate their bedrooms with personal pictures, ornaments and artefacts. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act . When people were identified as potentially being deprived of their liberty, applications were made to the authorising body.

People told us they felt cared for because staff were attentive and considerate when they needed support. Care staff told us the registered manager demonstrated the caring values of the home. People in bed looked well cared for and people told us staff were respectful when talking to them or providing them with care.

Care was planned in partnership with people and their views sought regularly, including through resident's meetings and reviews. The registered manager invested in accessible technology to support people and staff to communicate effectively with each other. Each person had a person-centred activity plan to ensure they were given opportunities to involve themselves in hobbies and interests of their choice. There was information about how people could raise a complaint displayed within the home. The registered manager worked with the local hospice to ensure training in end of life and palliative care was provided by someone with specialised skills and knowledge.

There were new systems to monitor the safety of the service. More time was needed for these processes to embed and become effective systems of quality assurance. Everyone we spoke with knew who the registered manager was. People were given the opportunity to make decisions and have choices about their lives at The Coach House Nursing Home during monthly 'residents meetings'. Staff felt motivated by the registered manager to provide high standards of care. The registered manager worked closely with the G.P practice and other health services including the local hospice, to improve experiences and outcomes for people, and ensure they received timely access to external healthcare.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk