What life is like for people using this service:

People received safe care and support as the staff team had been trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. People received safe support with their medicines by competent staff members. The provider had systems in place to respond to any medicine errors. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures. When risks to people’s health and welfare were identified the provider acted to minimise the likelihood of occurrence.

The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and supervision. People were promptly referred to additional healthcare services when required. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet. The environment where people lived suited their individual needs and preferences.

People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age and gender. People were supported to develop their independence and to set achievable goals in life.

People participated in a range of activities that met their individual choices and preferences and that they found interesting and stimulating. People were provided with information in a way that they could understand. Policies and guidelines were provided in an easy to read format with pictures to aid their understanding. People were supported by staff members who knew their individual communication styles. The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments from people or visitors.

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service they provided and to drive improvements where needed. The provider and management team had good links with the local community which people benefited from.

More information in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection: Good (date last report published 19 August 2016)

About the service:

Copperbeech is a residential care home that accommodates up to three people living with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at the home.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen ' Registering the Right Support' CQC policy.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection, ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained good in all key questions with an overall rating of ‘Good.’

The inspection visit took place on 31 March and 1 April 2016. The service was last inspected on 5 January 2014, when all standards were met and no concerns identified. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of this inspection visit because we needed to be sure that the registered manager, staff and people would be in.

Copperbeech is a small home which offers personal and social care for three adults with a learning disability (including autistic spectrum disorder). At the time of our inspection, three people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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’s needs were assessed and reviewed regularly. Staff evaluated risks and took steps to keep people safe from avoidable harm. Care plans were person centred and tailored to individuals’ needs and preferences. They also provided staff with clear guidance about how to provide care. People received support to participate in activities and tasks that were meaningful to them. People were involved in planning their own care, and were encouraged to express their views about their care.

People were happy and relaxed with the staff who supported them. They received care from staff who were trained and confident in their skills to provide care, and there were enough staff to support them to lead the lives they chose.

People were supported to make decisions as much as possible, and where they lacked capacity to do this, the provider ensured that decisions were made in people’s best interests and in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The provider recruited, trained, and supervised staff to ensure that they had the skills and competence to provide care to meet people’s needs. There were policies and procedures in place for staff to follow, and staff felt confident to speak out if they were concerned about any aspect of people’s care.

Medicines were managed safely in accordance with nationally recognised guidelines, by staff who had received training to ensure that people received medications as prescribed. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines were managed safely.

People’s nutritional needs were assessed, and they were supported to maintain a good diet. Staff monitored people’s diet to ensure they were protected from risks associated with eating and drinking.

The provider had an effective system of audits and checks in place to ensure that people’s care met the standards required by regulations. Where issues were identified with the quality of care, the provider took steps to remedy this.

People using the service had special communication needs and used a combination of words and sounds to express themselves. Where people were not able to express their views to us, we observed interaction between people and staff. We saw how people chose the activities they wished to do, and how to spend their time.

We found people were treated with dignity and respect. People could make choices about their care and we saw the staff were responsive to people’s individual choices and needs.

Care records reflected how people wanted to be supported. We saw that staff understood people’s needs and people received support from staff in a caring, compassionate and professional manner.

We saw systems were in place to protect people from the risks associated with medicines.

Records were stored safely and correctly and systems were as required. This ensured people’s confidential information was stored appropriately.

We spoke with two people using this service and two visitors. We also spoke to four staff members.

Although the people we spoke to had limited verbal communication they were all able to indicate that they liked living at Copperbeech. We found that people using the service and their visitors were involved in discussions about their needs and care. One visitor told us the staff “really work hard to create a very positive and active life for the residents.” We found that people were always treated with respect.

We found there was a good level of communication and contact between staff and people using the service. Care, support and daily routines were centred around people’s individual needs and preferences. A visitor told us the “environment is well suited, and the atmosphere is relaxed, calm and homely.”

People were protected from the risk of abuse, staff knew how to raise any concerns. We found that staff had received relevant training for their job. Staff were supported in their work and were confident that they were able to provide the care required.

People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained. We found the provider had clear and effective systems in place relating to record keeping.

Because of the degree of learning disability exhibited by the people living at he home, we did not speak directly to them about their lives there.

The manager and staff told us how the services and support provided at the home had steadily improved with better resources – financial and people – being made available. This is particularly well demonstrated in better care documentation and records that were genuinely aimed at a ’person centred approach’, continuous improvements in the quality of the premises and more individualised decorating and refurbishments, and staffing levels that support individual needs. The latter is in spite of the recent reduction from three to two in the number of people being supported. Staff said they ‘have achieved more individual patterns of support that is genuinely person centred’ and that ‘change is brought about by trying new things and getting a positive result – we all move on from there’.

Morale of the staff team was positive and, with few new faces amongst the staff team, good levels of continuity in care have been achieved and high standards of supportive teamwork have been allowed to flourish.