This inspection took place on 31 October 2018 and was announced. At the last inspection completed on 18 February 2016 we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the service continued to be Good.

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible.

People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 safeguarded from abuse and people’s risks were for assessed and plans were in place to manage these. People were supported by sufficient numbers of safely recruited and trained staff.

Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a healthy diet. People had access to healthcare and people's health needs were monitored and responded to.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and staff were provided with regular supervision and support.

People were supported to make informed decisions and where a person lacked capacity to make certain decisions they were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported in the least restrictive way possible and staff were knowledgeable about how to support people who presented behaviours which may challenge others.

Staff had a very good understanding of how people communicated, and were kind and compassionate and treated people with respect and people's rights to privacy and dignity were promoted and upheld.

People and their families were supported to raise issues and staff knew how to deal with concerns if they were raised.

Where possible people and their families were involved in planning their care and support, staff knew people's individual preferences and tailored support to meet their needs. People were enabled to make choices about their care and support and encouraged to be as independent as possible.

People led full and varied lives and were supported to have a social life and to pursue their interests and goals.

People using the service, staff and relatives were involved in giving their views on how the service was run and there were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. People and staff were encouraged to raise any views about the service on how improvements could be made, and the registered manager promoted an open culture.

The Inspection took place on 18 February 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location was a small care home for adults who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The service provides personal care as a supported living service at Austen House. Each person has their own individual flat at the location. At the time of the inspection the provider was supporting six people.

There was a Registered Manager in post. 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 abuse as staff knew what constituted abuse and who to report it to if they suspected it had taken place. There were sufficient staff to keep people safe and to support people to follow their hobbies and interests. Risks to people were minimised to encourage and promote people's independence. Staff were clear how to support people to maintain their safety when they put themselves at risk. People's medicines were stored, administered and managed safely.

Staff were supported to fulfil their role effectively. There was a regular programme of applicable training.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect people who cannot make decisions for themselves or lack the mental capacity to do so. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the MCA. They aim to make sure that people in care homes, hospitals and supported living are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The provider followed the principles of the MCA by ensuring that people consented to their care or were supported by representatives to make decisions.

People's nutritional needs were met. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

People were supported to access a range of health care services. When people became unwell staff responded and sought the appropriate support.

Staff were observed to be kind and caring and they told us that were well supported by the registered manager. Care was personalised and met people's individual needs and preferences.

The provider had a complaints procedure and people knew how to use it.The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. When improvements were required these were made in a timely manner.