People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available. This was because the inspection was part of a themed inspection programme to assess whether older people living in care homes are treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs are met. We spoke with five people who use the service and a relative. We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
Some people we spoke with did not feel their privacy and dignity was maintained by some of the staff. They felt the care varied between different staff. One person said 'some of the people are lovely, but some are not'. People we spoke did not feel they had a choice in how they were cared for.
All the people we spoke with were happy with the activities which were carried out by the staff in the home. However, people were not happy with the people that came into the home to do activities with them. All the people we spoke with felt there was a lack of socialising in the home.
People we spoke with did not like the food and felt it was not presented well. They also said there was no choice. One person said 'terrible food. I don't like the food here. I'm losing weight as I'm not eating enough. Rather than leaving it all, I ask for less'.it could be nice, but the way it's presented and the meat is tough. If it's not on the trolley, you can't have it.' All the people we spoke with said they could have water throughout the day if they requested it.
People told us that they felt safe in the home although they were concerned with carers walking into their rooms at night. They all said they felt they could only raise their concerns with some staff members. The manager said he was undertaking actions to address this.
All the people we spoke with felt there were not enough staff. They felt there were not enough staff at mealtimes and were not enough staff during the mornings. We were also told that the home was short staffed at weekends. All the people we spoke with felt the regular staff were qualified and able to care for them but they all had concerns with the bank staff. One said 'one girl didn't know how to wash me ' I had to tell her to put the plug in the sink and fill the basin with water.' However, when we observed care and viewed the staff rota, there was no evidence of the service being understaffed.
None of the people we spoke with were aware of or felt involved in their care plans.