The home did not know we were coming to complete our inspection. We were able to communicate with one person living at the home. We spoke with two relatives and two members of staff. We also reviewed care records and other documents, and observed how people were supported to make decisions, choices and live their life.The people living at Mandalay had been living together for a number of years. We found that friendships and boundaries had been established, and people were generally relaxed in each other's company. We observed positive and affectionate interactions between people and staff throughout our inspection. The relatives we spoke with were very positive about the current care. One relative told us that, 'The home has a sense of community, and it is a homely place to be.'
People living at the home were supported in different ways to maintain their quality of life and be involved in decisions about their care. Communication plans were in place to help staff recognise decisions and choices people were making. We talked with two relatives who told us they were very involved in the planning of their relative's care and in any key decisions that needed to be made. They told us that people were encouraged and supported to maintain their interests and enjoy life as much as possible. One relative told us that only the staff could make their relative smile.
The relatives we spoke with told us that they felt people were safe at the home. One relative told us that, 'The staff are more her family than we are. They keep her safe.' The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the types of concerns that could constitute abuse and their responsibilities to help protect and keep people at the home safe. They were clear about the steps they would take if they had any concerns and were confident that these concerns would be investigated or reported. We identified a couple of issues for people that should have been considered for reporting under local safeguarding procedures. There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place to ensure staff were suitable to be working at the home.
We found that the general quality and accuracy of records relating to the day to day delivery of care needed to improve. The detail recorded in daily notes and in care plan reviews meant it was sometimes difficult to check that care provided met people's needs.