The Inspection took place on 29 January 2018 and it was unannounced. This is the service’s first inspection.

Alyson House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service is registered to care for up to nine adults, some of whom may be living with dementia, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments. There were nine people living in the service when we inspected.

There was a registered manager in post who was also the registered provider. 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 were protected from the risk of harm by the service’s systems, processes and practices. Staff were well trained and knew how to protect people from the risk of harm, support them with their mobility and respond in an emergency. There was a robust recruitment and induction process and sufficient well trained and supported staff to meet people’s needs. People received their medication as prescribed and the records were of a good standard. There was sufficient equipment and measures in place to minimise the risk of infection. The service was clean, light, bright and airy and it was well maintained. The registered manager/provider analysed incident, accident and safety records to ensure that lessons were learnt and improvements made.

People and their relatives had been fully involved in the assessment process. Staff knew people well and communicated with them using individual’s preferred method of communication. People enjoyed a balanced healthy diet and had been fully involved in planning the menus. Their healthcare needs were fully met and the service worked well in partnership with other health professionals to ensure that people received good healthcare. The building had sufficient space for people to use, was well lit and nicely decorated with good easy to read pictorial information displayed in prominent areas. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were cared for by kind, caring and respectful staff who listened to them and helped them in any way they wanted. Staff made people feel important and always put them first. The registered manager/provider and all of the staff treated people with dignity and respect, they respected their privacy and encouraged their independence. People and their relatives expressed their views and were kept actively involved in their care. Advocacy services were used where necessary. An advocate supports a person to have an independent voice and enables them to express their views.

People had personalised pictorial care plans that were detailed and informative and had been regularly reviewed and updated. People and their relatives had been kept actively involved in the care planning process and their reviews. There was a good pictorial complaints procedure and a copy was displayed in a large format in the hallway to inform people how to complain. The service had not dealt with end of life care; however, there were pictorial end of life care plans describing how people wanted to be cared for when the time came.

Staff shared the registered manager/provider’s vision to empower people to live a full and active life. There was an effective quality assurance system, where a range of people’s views and opinions had been sought. The service used the results of surveys, audits and meetings to make continual improvements ensuring that eve