Archived: Ryde Cottage

We looked at four care plans and saw they were individualised and included the necessary details to inform staff as to the specific care people required. We saw these were reviewed on a monthly basis. We observed care in the communal areas of the home and saw staff interacting with people in a positive way. One member of staff said 'we have enough staff and I have a lot of freedom to be with the residents'.

We found there were appropriate arrangements in place in relation to the obtaining, storing and administration of medication. We looked at the records of when medication had been administered and found these had been fully completed. We saw that information about the medication people were prescribed was included in their care plans.

Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work and there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. We found the provider had an effective quality assurance system in place and sought the views of people who use the service and their families through regular surveys.

We observed staff providing care and saw people had a choice regarding the activities they took part in. We saw staff speaking with people, who looked relaxed and happy, in a positive way offering them a choice for lunch.

We spoke with four members of staff and confirmed they had received appropriate training and had the skills necessary to carry out their duties. Staff had received safeguarding training and were able to say what action they would take if concerns were raised or observed. We saw the provider had responded appropriately to safeguarding concerns.

The home had a complaints policy which was available to people in an easy read format. The people we spoke with told us they would 'tell [the manager]' if they were not happy and wanted to complain but had not needed to do so.