This inspection took place on 16 June 2017. The inspection was unannounced. This inspection was the first of this service since it was registered in November 2015 by St Anne's Community Services.

Aachen Brook provides residential and respite care for up to six people with physical and learning disabilities. Nursing care is provided.

At the time of this inspection there were two people residing at the home and three people receiving respite care. A fourth person arrived for a period of respite care on the day of our visit.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe and could speak to any of the staff if they were worried about anything. The manager understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people and staff were trained to understand and recognise abuse. They knew who to report concerns about people’s safety and welfare within the organisation and to external agencies if necessary.

Sufficient numbers of staff were deployed to provide people with the care and support they needed. The required checks were done before new staff started work and this helped to keep people safe. Staff were provided with training and support to enable them carry out their roles.

Systems were in place to make sure medicines were managed safely.

People who used the service and their relatives told us staff were helpful, kind, attentive and caring. We saw people were treated with respect and compassion. They also told us they felt safe with the care they were provided with. We found there were appropriate systems in place to protect people from risk of harm.

Risks to people’s safety and welfare were identified and managed. Risk assessments clearly identified the risks to people and what could be done to mitigate the risks and keep them safe whilst promoting independence. Staff were provided with information about how to deal with emergencies .

Meals were prepared and cooked by staff with the involvement of the people who lived there as they wished. We saw people’s nutritional needs and preferences were taken into account.

We found the service was working in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and this helped to make sure people’s rights were protected. When there was any doubt about a person’s capacity to understand a particular decision the correct process was followed to make sure any actions taken were in their best interests.

‘Health Action Plans’ were in place to help support people to lead a healthy lifestyle. These included information about health care professionals involved in supporting people and details of how people were able to communicate health care issues and emotions. The service worked with other health and social care professionals to help achieve positive outcomes for people.

People told us staff respected their privacy and dignity and provided them with the support they needed. Staff demonstrated a caring attitude and we saw the interactions between staff and people who used the service were friendly and warm. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends and take part in a range of social activities of their choosing.

People were involved in decisions about all aspects of their care and support.

The care documentation supported a person centred approach and contained all the detail staff would need to make sure people were supported safely and in the way they preferred.

There was a complaints procedure and people were informed of what they should do if they were unhappy. The people we spoke with said they had no reason to complain but would not hesitate to speak with one of the staff or the registered mana