We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by four inspectors, a pharmacist, a specialist advisor in nursing and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

This service is a care home for elderly people primarily with dementia and is registered to accommodate up to 120 people. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The manager was not present at the time of the inspection. We were supported by the deputy manager. The manager had not registered with the CQC. Being registered means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The manager told us they had submitted their application to register with the CQC.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was carried out on 18 and 19 March 2019 and was unannounced. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. This means the home was not aware we were coming to inspect them.

What we did:

• Before the inspection, we reviewed relevant information that we had about the service including any notifications of safeguarding or incidents affecting the safety and wellbeing of people. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We also checked the last inspection report.

• The service completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what it does well and any improvements they plan to make.

• During the inspection we spoke with 13 people, 10 relatives, the area quality director, the deputy manager, seven nurses, 12 care staff, two activity coordinators, two laundry staff, one house keeping staff and a maintenance staff.

• We looked at the care records of 21 people who used the service. The management of medicines, staff training records, staff files, as well as a range of records relating to the running of the service. This included audits, premises safety checks, complaints and accident and incident records.