This inspection took place on 12 and 13 December 2016 and the first day was unannounced.

The home provides accommodation for people with a learning disability or mental health needs and offers a communal living area, kitchen and dining area in open plan design. There are four bedrooms on the ground floor, a wet room and shower room. Upstairs there are a further two bedrooms and another shower room. There is a small front garden with a parking area, and a large back garden.

There is 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.

There were six people living in the home at the time of the inspection. People had been supported to move into the home at very short notice, when the home they had previously been living in suffered storm damage.

Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service.

There were suitable recruitment procedures and required employment checks were undertaken before staff began to work at the home. Staffing levels were planned, implemented and reviewed to keep people safe at all times. Any staff shortages were responded to quickly and appropriately.

The staff understood their role in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should be put into practice. These safeguards protect the rights of people by ensuring, if there are any restrictions to their freedom and liberty, these have been authorised by the local authority as being required to protect the person from harm.

Systems, processes and standard operating procedures around medicines were reliable and appropriate to keep people safe. Monitoring the safety of these systems were robust.

Assessments were undertaken to assess any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included environmental risks and any risks due to the health and support needs of the person. The risk assessments we read included information about action to be taken to minimise the chance of harm occurring.

Staff knew the people they supported and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and families were involved in making decisions about their care.

People were supported to eat and drink. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required to meet people’s needs.

Staff told us the registered manager was accessible and approachable. The manager and provider undertook regular audits to review the quality of the service provided and made the necessary improvements to the service. People were involved in audits of the home’s environment.