As part of this inspection we were accompanied by an expert by experience. An expert by experience has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses a health or mental health and/or social care service. Using an expert by experience is a way of helping us find out about the experiences of people who use services.The expert observed and spoke with people using the service to gain their views about how they are respected, involved and how they are cared for. Feedback from the Expert has been included in this report.
People using the service told us that they enjoyed their meals. They rated the food and choices as 'Good' and 'extremely good'.
The premises are on all one level and people commented positively about this. They said the circular design brought more light into the building light and they liked the design because it made it easier to get around.Emphasis was placed on safety with the provision of hand rails, non-slip flooring and lever taps.
The expert by experience noted that space was an issue for people. The size of people's bedrooms were small with none having ensuite facilities. A person using the service said, 'The room is small, there is too much equipment in the room, all necessary, but you can see that if I were to get out of the chair on my own I might trip over something. It's too cluttered.'
Another person said,' Closers on doors don't work. The spring is noisy and the door is heavy and closes too quickly and could knock me over, they're worn out. I've asked for them to be mended but I've been told it is too expensive. Who cares about expense, it should be fixed.'
At the time of this visit we were told that there were nineteen people living in the service. They were being supported by the registered manager, one registered nurse and four carers. In addition there was an activities organiser. Some people felt there were enough staff to meet needs, others felt there was a staff shortage reflected in the sometimes very long wait for assistance. A person said, 'It can take forty-five minutes before somebody comes in answer to the call bell.' 'You see a member of staff passing the door but if you want something they are in a hurry and don't hear the request, or they hear the request and say 'wait a minute