62 Manor Green Road is a supported living service for up to five people with mental health needs and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection five people lived here.

The inspection took place on 25 October 2017 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection since the service had reregistered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a supported living service.

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 safe at 62 Manor Green Road. Risks of harm to people had been identified and clear plans and guidelines were in place to minimise these risks. Staff understood their duty should they suspect abuse was taking place, including the agencies that needed to be notified, such as the local authority safeguarding team or the police.

There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet the individual support tasks of the people that lived there. Staff recruitment procedures were safe to ensure staff were suitable to support people in the home. The provider had carried out appropriate recruitment checks before staff commenced employment. They had also checked to ensure staff were eligible to work in the UK.

People received their medicines when they needed them. Staff managed the medicines in a safe way and were trained in the safe administration of medicines.

In the event of an emergency people would be protected because there were clear procedures in place to support people if the building needed to be evacuated. Regular checks were completed around the home to ensure it was safe, such as testing fire detection systems, and maintenance of equipment.

Where people did not have the capacity to understand or consent to a decision the provider had followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). An appropriate assessment of people’s ability to make decisions for themselves had been completed. Staff were heard to ask people for their permission before they provided care.

People were supported to manage their own diets and meals. People were supported to maintain good health as they had access to relevant healthcare professionals when they needed them. People’s health and independence was seen to improve due to the support staff gave.

There was positive feedback about the home and caring nature of staff from people who live here. The staff were seen to be kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect.

Care plans gave a good level of detail for staff to reference if they needed to know what support was required. People received the care and support as detailed in their care plans. Details in the care plans matched with what we saw on the day of our inspection, and with what people told us.

People were supported to access to a wide range of activities, some for fun, others to help increase their independence and daily living skills. Improvements in people’s confidence and daily living skills were seen as a result.

People knew how to make a complaint. Four complaints had been received since our last inspection, and these had been addressed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

The registered manager and the provider fostered a culture of continuous improvement within the service. Audits where used to review the standard of support being given, and clear action plans were put into place where this did not meet the providers standards. There was a clear vision for how the provider wanted the service to run. Staff clearly understood this and demonstrated it by supporting people in a caring way to improve their independence and live a fulfilled life.