Brooklyn Care Homes Limited is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing 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 home provides accommodation and personal and nursing care for up to six adults living with autism, learning disabilities and mental health needs. The accommodation is provided across two separate bungalows. There were six people using the service at the time of our inspection.

At our last comprehensive inspection in January 2016 we rated the service as '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.

People were cared for safely, by adequate numbers of staff who had been checked to ensure they were suitable to work at the service. In addition, staff were knowledgeable on how to take action to keep people safe. People were protected from the risks associated with medicine and infections and the provider had taken steps to ensure lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

People received effective care as their needs were assessed and staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. People had access to a healthy and varied diet and any equipment needed to meet their needs. Other professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate and people had access to relevant healthcare services. 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 felt happy with the staff that cared for them and the service was caring. People received personalised and responsive care because they were involved in their care planning. People were asked their views and could make complaints. When appropriate, end of life care planning was discussed and planned for.

The service was well-led, open and transparent and focussed on good outcomes for people. Systems were operated effectively to ensure the quality and safety of services. People were involved in the service and the service worked in partnership with other agencies.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected the service on 6 January 2016. The inspection was announced. Brooklyn Care Homes Limited is owned and managed by Brooklyn Care Homes Limited. It is situated in the village of Upton in Nottinghamshire and offers accommodation for to up to six adults with learning disabilities in two separate bungalows with two people living in the retreat and four people in the lodge. On the day of our inspection six people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager in place 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 supported by staff who knew how to recognise abuse and how to respond to concerns. Risks in relation to people’s daily life were assessed and planned for to protect them from harm.

People were supported by enough staff to ensure they received care and support when they needed it. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care and support. People were supported to make decisions and staff knew how to act if people did not have the capacity to make decisions.

People were supported to maintain their nutrition and staff were monitoring and responding to people’s health conditions.

People lived in a service where staff listened to them. People’s emotional needs were recognised and responded to by a staff team who cared about the individual they were supporting. People were supported to enjoy a social life.

People were involved in giving their views on how the service was run and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

Prior to our visit we reviewed all the information we had received from the provider. During the visit we spoke with two people who used the service and asked them for their views. We also spoke with two care workers and the registered manager. We looked at some of the records held in the service including the care files for the four people who were using the service and observed the support two people who used the service received from staff.

We found people were respected and involved in making decisions about their care and support and received care and support that met their needs. A person who used the service told us, “I feel involved and respected.” The person also told us, “The staff here are fantastic, they help us all. Sometimes I help them.”

We found people who used the service were kept safe and protected from harm. Staff knew how to respond to any allegation of abuse. We asked a person if they felt safe in the home and they replied, “I feel safe here. This is a private area with gates on the drive. The staff have given me more confidence. They have helped me face my fears. I used to be scared of main roads.”

We found the provider employed people of good character who were suitable to work with people who used the service. A person who used the service told us, “Staff here are friendly, kind, caring and helpful.” We found the provider assessed and monitored the quality of the service and sought the views of people who used the service.

Prior to our visit we reviewed all the information we had received from the provider. We spoke with three staff, the deputy manager, registered manager and the provider. We spoke with four people who used the service and observed the support they received from staff because some people had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences. We also looked at some of the records held in the service including the care files for three people.

We looked to see how people gave their consent to care and treatment. We saw information in people’s care files that showed they had given their consent to their care. One person had signed their care plan to show this.

We looked at the care and welfare people received. People received care and support as described in their plan of care. Two people told us they had been to college and a third person said they had been out in the car.

We looked at the safety and suitability of the premises. We saw one person’s bedroom had restricted headroom. The person told us, “I have banged my head about 20 times.”

We looked to see whether there was sufficient and suitable staff available. Each person who used the service had a member of staff allocated to support them throughout the day.

We looked at how people could make a complaint if they needed to. One person told us they had complained about the heating not working properly and this had been dealt with.

Some people living at Brooklyn Care Homes Limited did not want to or were unable to talk to us about their experience of the service. Other people living at Brooklyn Care Homes Limited were not in the home at the time of our visit as they were attending activities in the community. We therefore observed care, inspected care plans and the premises and talked with staff to evaluate the quality of support provided to people living at Brooklyn Care Homes Limited.