Brighton Road is a residential care home for up to four people who have a learning disability. At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing 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.

The registered manager remained 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. The provider is also the registered manager and this is their home. The person using the service lives in the home as a part of the family.

People told us they felt safe. Staff were trained in adult safeguarding procedures and knew what to do if they considered people were at risk of harm or if they needed to report any suspected abuse. Staff were aware of the whistleblowing procedures and knew how to use them.

The risks to people's safety and wellbeing were assessed and regularly reviewed.

The provider had processes in place for the recording and investigation of incidents and accidents.

There were sufficient numbers of staff available to help meet people’s needs.

People were not prescribed medicines and so did not need support with the management of any medicines.

Staff completed training for good practice with food hygiene and infection control.

The provider met the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to help ensure people’s rights were protected. Staff had received appropriate training and had a good understanding of the MCA. People and their relatives said staff sought their consent before providing care.

People were supported to access health care services as required in order to help them to stay healthy.

Relatives told us staff were consistently kind and caring and established positive relationships with people and with them. They told us staff valued people, treated them with respect and promoted their rights, choice and independence.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and also when there was a change in care needs. People were given information about how to make a complaint and the people we spoke with knew how to go about making a complaint and were confident that they would be responded to appropriately by the provider. We saw evidence the registered manager responded to complaints received in a timely manner.

We received positive feedback about the management of the service. The registered manager and the staff were approachable and fully engaged with providing good quality care for people who used the service. The provider had systems in place to continually monitor the quality of the service and there were arrangements for people to be asked for their opinions via surveys.

We carried out an inspection of 477 Brighton Road on 8 January 2016. The inspection was unannounced. At the previous inspection of 12 November 2013 the home had met all the required standards.

477 Brighton Road is a home for up to four people who have learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there was one person living in the home. The staffing of the home was undertaken by the owners, one of whom was the registered manager. The owners have two other registered services and all three services share a common set of policies and procedures. If for any reason an additional staff member was required the provider would make use of bank staff from within his own employees.

The home 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 who lived at the home were protected from the risk of abuse happening to them. People told us they felt safe and well cared for at the service and that they felt comfortable with the staff.

We saw that people’s health and nutrition were regularly monitored. There were well established links with GP services and other community health services such as dentists.

Care records were individual to the person and contained information about their life history, their likes and dislikes, and information which would be helpful to hospitals or other health support services.

Staffing levels were managed flexibly to suit people's needs so that they received their care when they needed it. Staff had access to information, support and training that they needed to do their jobs well. The provider’s training programme was designed to meet the needs of people using the service so that staff had the knowledge and skills they required to care for people effectively.

There was an open and inclusive atmosphere in the service. People told us they found the manager to be approachable and supportive.

The provider carried out regular audits to monitor the quality of the service and to plan improvements. Action plans were used so the provider could monitor whether necessary changes were made.

There were two people using the service at the time of our visit. We were able to see that the service focused on the welfare of each person through personalised care planning including assessment of nutritional needs. We spoke with the families of both people using the service. One person told us ''he loves his food; they (the providers) are very good with him and take him shopping to choose his food.'' The providers were clear about the importance of ensuring that each person had a balanced diet. We spoke with one person using the service who told us that he could have snacks if he felt hungry between meals.

We saw that there were appropriate arrangements for medicines to be safely stored and that administration records were accurate and up to date.

There were no staff employed at the time of the visit due to their only being two people using the service. The two providers were able to fully discuss the appropriate steps to be taken when recruiting staff to ensure people using the service were cared for by staff that had the appropriate skills and qualifications.

We saw evidence that training was undertaken on a regular basis by the providers to ensure people's health and welfare needs were met.

Records were found to be accurate and fit for purpose and were stored securely to ensure confidentiality.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care that they received. One person told us “I like it here”.

People were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement. We observed that staff were aware of people’s preferences and routines so they could support people in their daily lives.

We saw the satisfaction surveys that had been completed by people using the service and they were happy with the care being provided in the home. The provider had a system to assess the feedback provided in the satisfaction questionnaires and to take action where required to address areas where improvement had been identified.

Prior to our visit, we asked the provider to complete a self assessment for nine of the outcomes. This information is used to help us reach a decision about whether the service is meeting the essential standards. The returned Provider Compliance Assessment (PCA) was very brief and did not include enough information about how the home complies with the standards. The reader should note that ‘PCP’ stands for Person centred plan. This is a plan of care that is developed with a person using the service or their representative.

The two people using the service felt that they are enabled to lead the lifestyle that they like; they are supported to keep in touch with family and friends. They said they got on well with the owners and their family and were treated well.

People who were able to go out independently told us about where they go and what they do. People using the service are provided with a range of varied activities to meet both their needs and social interests. This extends to both within the home and the local community.

Please refer to each outcome below and within the main report for more detailed information about the service and other comments that people made to us.

We would like to thank all those who took part in this inspection for their time, assistance and hospitality.