Agricola House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection.

Agricola House is a detached purpose built home situated in a residential area of Tottington in Bury. It is part of the Voyage 1 Limited Group and is registered to care for up to 8 adults with an acquired brain injury. The home offers spacious accommodation, which had been adapted to support people with physical needs. The home is wheelchair accessible and ceiling tracking is available as required. Externally there is a well-maintained garden with a level access patio area as well as adequate parking for visitors. At the time of our inspection there were eight people using the service.

We last inspected the home in August 2015. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we reviewed and was rated ‘Good’.

At this inspection, carried out on the 24 and 25 April 2018, we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall.

Why the service is rated good.

People spoke positively about their experiences living at Agricola House. They told us staff were polite and friendly and respected them. People appeared to enjoy a good rapport with staff who clearly had a good understanding of their individual needs and abilities.

The home had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who was present on the day of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

Systems were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. The registered manager had taken appropriate action to address issues brought to her attention and had cooperated with the local authority so that matters were resolved.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

Staff members had been safely recruited. A large number of staff had been employed over the last year providing sufficient numbers of staff to meet people's needs. Staff received on-going training and support. This helped to ensure they had the knowledge and skills needed to meet the specific needs of people living at Agricola House.

The provider had effective systems in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others.

People were provided with a good standard of accommodation, which was comfortable and well maintained. Suitable aids and adaptations were provided to promote people’s safety and independence. Hygiene standards were maintained throughout.

The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were being met. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were encouraged to follow a balanced diet and were involved in the planning, purchasing and preparation of their meals. Staff worked closely with healthcare agencies so that people received the care and treatment they needed.

People's needs were assessed, planned and delivered in line with their individual needs, wishes and preferences.

People were supported in promoting their in

This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 12 August 2015. There were 8 people using the service at the time of the inspection. We last inspected the home on 11 June 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we reviewed.

Agricola House is a detached purpose built home situated in a residential area of Tottington in Bury. It is part of the Voyage 1 Limited Group and is registered to care for up to 8 adults with an acquired brain injury. The home is set in well-maintained gardens with adequate parking and clearly defined parking areas for disabled visitors.

The home had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who was present on the day of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

We found that suitable arrangements were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Guidance and training was provided for staff on identifying and responding to the signs and allegations of abuse. Staff knew what to do if an allegation of abuse was made to them or if they suspected that abuse had occurred. Staff were able to demonstrate their understanding of the whistle blowing procedures (the reporting of unsafe and/or poor practice).

Staff were also able to demonstrate their understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); these provide legal safeguards for people who may be unable to make their own decisions.

We saw that appropriate arrangements were in place to assess whether people were able to consent to their care and treatment. We found the provider was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); these provide legal safeguards for people who may be unable to make their own decisions.

We found people were cared for by sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and experienced staff who were safely recruited. Staff received the essential training and support necessary to enable them to do their job effectively and care for people safely. Records showed that staff had also received training relevant to their role. The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the care and support that people required. Staff told us there was enough equipment available to promote people’s safety, comfort and independence.

People who used the service told us they felt the staff had the skills and experience to meet their needs. People were happy with the care and support they received and spoke positively of the kindness and caring attitude of the staff.

People’s care records contained enough information to guide staff on the care and support required. The care records showed that risks to people’s health and well-being had been identified and plans were in place to help reduce or eliminate the risk. We saw that people were involved and consulted about the development of their care plans. This helped to ensure the wishes of people who used the service were considered and planned for.

We saw that great emphasis was placed on ensuring people took part in the activities they had either enjoyed previously or wanted to pursue since moving into the home.

Food stocks were good and a choice of meal was always available. People we spoke with told us the food was good and there was plenty of it.

We found the system for managing medicines was safe and we saw how the staff worked in cooperation with other health and social care professionals to ensure that people received appropriate care and treatment.

We saw there were risk assessments in place for the safety of the premises. All areas of the home were clean, well maintained and accessible for people with limited mobility; making it a safe environment for people to live and work in. Systems were in place to deal with any emergency that could affect the provision of care, such as utility failures and bad weather conditions. Procedures were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection.

To help ensure that people received safe and effective care, systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Regular checks were undertaken on all aspects of the running of the home and there were opportunities, such as questionnaires and meetings, for people to comment on the facilities of the service and the quality of the care provided.