Archived: The Old Vicarage Residential and Dementia Care Home

People benefitted from support provided by staff who were extremely kind and compassionate. Staff were caring in their approach to people and throughout the inspection we saw people being treated with dignity and respect. Staff took time with people, reassuring and calming them when they became anxious.

There was a caring culture throughout the service that ensured people were at the centre of the service. This culture was promoted throughout the staff team.

The service provided excellent end of life care. People were treated with dignity and respect, ensuring they remained pain free and comfortable at the end of their life. Relatives were supported throughout and the service had a chapel which provided a seamless path for relatives dealing with a person's death. The service was accredited to the Gold Standards Framework and had attained a platinum rating recognising their outstanding support for end of life care.

People were supported by a service that had systems in place to keep them safe. Medicines were managed safely to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed. There were effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff were fit to work with vulnerable people.

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.

People were complimentary about the food and the provider ensured people had food and drink to meet their dietary needs.

Staff were supported through regular supervision. Staff had access to development opportunities and felt valued for the support they provided.

There was a wide range of activities available and people were encouraged to be involved in developing an activity programme that interested them.

The registered manager promoted a culture that valued everyone involved in the service as individuals. There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the service which included seeking feedback from people which was used to drive improvement.

We conducted a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) exercise in the homes dementia unit. We noted a number of positive interactions and that all staff on the dementia unit assisted with meals to ensure that people had a pleasant mealtime.

We found people were safe. Care workers were aware of the different forms of abuse and knew who to report to if they felt people were being abused. Care workers also confirmed that they would feel comfortable raising any concerns.

Care workers, nurses and domestic workers received appropriate professional development. Care workers we spoke with felt that they were supported by the provider and had access to mandatory training, specific training and a structured supervision and appraisal programme.

The provider conducted a detailed quality audit, which covered medication, quality of service, infection control. We saw that actions had been implemented by the provider.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. We saw a care worker give a person with dementia choice regarding their meal. The care worker did this to ensure the person had meaningful choices, offered in a way that suited the person.

Staff we spoke with were able to discuss people's needs, and the care they provided. Staff felt that they benefitted from a good level of communication between themselves and management.

The building appeared clean and bright with the majority of areas in good decorative order. There was effective maintenance arrangements and plans in place to deal with concerns that had been raised by the homes management.

People spoken with felt that staff were easy to get hold of and were polite and engaging, one person said "staff always have five minutes to chatter", while another stated "staff are always cheerful" and "staff really listen".

The provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service. People we spoke with felt confident in raising their concerns to a member of staff, or the management. A relative of a person using the service felt that if there was any issue or concern they would speak to the management and had done so in the past.

The care assessments we saw were reviewed and the changing needs of people were documented. This did not always affect relevant care or risk assessments or provide affective care assessments for staff to follow.