Nightingales is a care home situated in the residential area of Thornton Cleveleys. The home provides residential and nursing care for 55 people, including people who live with dementia. The main building is a converted and purpose built extension to a farmhouse and has a ground and first floor facility. There are single and double bedrooms which all have en-suite facilities. There is a passenger lift in place. There is another residential building within the grounds and this is known as The Barn. At the time of our inspection visit there were 53 people who lived at the home.At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
Although a number of people had limited verbal communication and were unable to converse with us, we were able to speak with six people who lived at the home and four people visiting their relatives. People told us they were happy and well cared for and felt safe living at the home. One person visiting the home said, “Very happy with [relatives] care. They are kind and so patient with them.”
We found staff had been recruited safely, appropriately trained and supported. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs. Staffing levels were observed to be sufficient to meet the needs of people who lived at the home.
Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support people who lived with dementia. We found staff were knowledgeable about support needs of people in their care.
We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they were kind and patient and showed affection towards the people in their care.
We saw people who lived at the home were clean and well dressed. They looked relaxed and comfortable in the care of staff supporting them.
We found the service had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report unsafe care or abusive practices.
Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.
We looked around the building and found it had been maintained, was clean and hygienic and a safe place for people to live. We found equipment had been serviced and maintained as required.
We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept with appropriate arrangements for storing in place.
The registered provider understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.
People who were able told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. We saw regular snacks and drinks were provided between meals to ensure people received adequate nutrition and hydration.
We found people had access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs were met. We saw the service had responded promptly when people had experienced health problems.
Care plans were organised and had identified the care and support people required. We found they were informative about care people had received. They had been kept under review and updated when necessary to reflect people’s changing needs.
People who lived at the home had the choice of attending the services day centre where a variety of activities were organised for their entertainment. We saw people participating in an art class and one person enjoying a game of chess with a staff member.
The service had a complaints procedure which was made available to people on their admission to the home and their relatives. We saw the registered provider had listened and responded to issues of concern raised by the family of one person and these were being investigated when we undertook our inspection visit.
The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff and resident meetings to seek the views of people about the service.