We visited Abele View Residential Home on 29 February 2012, on the day of our visit we spoke with four people who lived at Abele View Residential Home and five relatives. We also spoke with four members of staff, the home manager, the quality assurance manager and a visiting professional.People we spoke with during our visit were overall happy with their care. People told us they were comfortable. People reported staff were caring and they could approach them with a concern. One person commented the care was "very good".
People we spoke with said they were treated with dignity and respect. People told us there were activities they could be involved with such as exercise sessions and games. People commented they did not have to take participate in activities that they did not enjoy.
People said they enjoyed their meals and they were offered choice, one person told us the food was "wonderful". We saw meal times were organised and relaxed. People were supported into the dining area and assisted by staff. Staff ensured people were comfortable and had an adequate meal.
All the relatives we spoke with were happy with the care received by their family members. Relatives said they felt involved and staff kept them informed of any changes which occurred.
We saw staff attended to people in a caring, considerate manner and responded
appropriately to their needs. People's likes, dislikes and religious beliefs were known by staff and included in the delivery of care for example a regular church service took place.
Staff we spoke with showed understanding in areas of safeguarding, equality and diversity. Staff were aware of the management of falls and pressure sores. Staff told us they liked working at Abele View,one staff we spoke with said it was a "nice atmosphere' to work in.
Staff felt well trained and supported to provide good quality care. Staff understood what constituted abuse and said that they would be able to recognise and report poor practice. This demonstrated people were cared for by appropriately trained staff.
We found systems were in place to ensure the service was improving as a result of findings of audits. For example more training on the prevention of falls and reviewing infection control procedures in response to issues highlighted during the audit process.