Bay Lodge is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for five people who have a learning disability and/or who live with autism. At the time of our inspection visit there were five younger adults living in the service. All of them had special communication needs and used personal forms of sign-assisted language to express themselves.

The service was run by a company that was the registered provider. 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. In this report when we speak about both the company and the registered manager we refer to them as being, ‘the registered persons’.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

This inspection was announced and was carried out on 13 April 2017. We gave the registered persons a short period of notice. This was because the people who lived in the service had complex needs for care and benefited from knowing in advance that we would be calling.

Care staff knew how to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. Staff helped people to avoid preventable accidents while also enabling them to take reasonable risks. Medicines were managed safely and there were enough care staff on duty. Background checks had been completed before new care staff had been appointed.

Care staff knew how to support people in the right way. People enjoyed their meals and they had been helped to obtain all of the healthcare assistance they needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were treated with compassion and respect. Care staff recognised people’s right to privacy and promoted their dignity. Confidential information was kept private.

People had been given all of the care they needed and they had been supported to pursue their hobbies and interests. There was a system for quickly and fairly resolving complaints.

People had been consulted about the development of their home. Quality checks had been regularly completed to ensure that people received safe care. Care staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns and good team work was promoted. People had benefited from care staff acting upon good practice guidance.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

We inspected Bay Lodge on 2 April 2015. This was an unannounced inspection.

Bay Lodge provides accommodation for up to five people who have a learning disability. There were four people living in the service at the time of our inspection.

There was 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.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor how a provider applies the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way. This is usually to protect themselves. At the time of our inspection two people were being deprived of their liberty. The remaining people were subject to a level of supervision and control that could have amounted to a deprivation of liberty. The registered persons had sought and/or obtained the necessary authorisations to ensure that all of the care provided in the service was lawful.

Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns so that people were kept safe from harm. People were helped to avoid having accidents and their medicines were safely managed. There were enough staff on duty and background checks had been completed before new staff were appointed.

Staff had been supported to assist people in the right way including helping them to eat and drink enough to stay well. People had received all of the healthcare assistance they needed. Staff had ensured that people’s rights were protected because the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice was followed when decisions were made on their behalf.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff recognised people’s right to privacy, respected confidential information and promoted people’s dignity.

People had received all of the care they needed including people who had special communication needs and were at risk of becoming distressed. People had been consulted about the care they wanted to receive and they were supported to celebrate their diversity. Staff had offered people the opportunity to pursue their interests and hobbies. There was a good system for resolving complaints.

People had been consulted about the development of the service and quality checks had also been completed. The service was run in an open and inclusive way and people had benefited from staff being involved in good practice initiatives.

There were three people living at Bay Lodge at the time of our visit. On the day we visited all of the people who lived at the home were present. However we were unable to gain people's views because of the different ways people communicated. We spent time observing care, speaking to staff and reviewing records to see what it was like to live at the home.

We saw people were asked for their consent before care was provided and where people were unable to make decisions for themselves the provider acted in accordance with the law.

Records showed care was planned to reduce the risk to people, while allowing them to remain independent. Appropriate health care professionals were involved in people’s care when needed.

The home was clean and tidy. Systems in the kitchen and laundry reduced the risk of cross infection. People’s medication was stored and administered safely.

The provider had recruitment systems to ensure care workers were fit to work with vulnerable people. Where care workers were no longer fit to work with vulnerable people they were referred the appropriate bodies.

On the Day we visited there were three people living at Bay Lodge. The people who lived at Bay Lodge were unable to answer direct questions about their experience of the home and whether they felt involved and respected. However their experiences were captured through records, other information we received from the manager and staff and from other people they had contact with.

The home had forms available for people to record their first impressions of the service. We saw a social worker had commented, “The staff are very welcoming and exhibited a friendly professional attitude towards their responsibilities. [Our client] seemed very happy in his new home.”

We saw that the home had a calm atmosphere and there were good relationships between staff and people who lived at the service.