About the service: Gillott Respite Service is a care home that provides accommodation for up to six people for people who need crisis support with their mental health. At the time of the inspection two people lived at the home.

People’s experience of using this service:

Medication management was unsafe and placed people at risk of harm. People’s medicines were not received into the home in a safe way and the records relating to people’s medicines were poor.

The systems and processes in place at the home to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not always effective in identifying and driving up improvements in the service.

Referral information in respect of people’s needs and risks was received by the service prior to their admission. On admission to the service people’s needs and risks were not always assessed by the provider to ensure that staff had clear guidance on how to provide people with safe and appropriate, person centred care.

Some of the language used to refer to people in records relating to their support was inappropriate as it referred to a person by a ‘number’ as opposed to a name. This depersonalised people and was disrespectful.

Records showed that people did not always engage with staff or that staff ensured that people received the support they needed. Some people had a meeting with their keyworker whereas others had not.

The provider’s complaints policy and procedure needed greater detail of who to report concerns to, if people were unhappy with the support provided.

People were supported to be independent by shopping for and cooking their own meals, doing their own laundry and other domestic duties.

Regular meetings took place with people who lived at the home to involve them in the running of the service and seek their feedback. A survey of people’s views of the service had also been undertaken.

During our visit we saw that staff members treated people kindly and with respect.

People’s needs were met by a range of health and social care professionals involved in supporting the person’s mental health. The provider also ensured the person was supported to access local services such as housing, benefits agency and local GP and dentists.

The premises were clean and well maintained.

Staff told us they felt supported by the manager. Staff training was sufficient and the majority was up to date.

The atmosphere at the home was warm and inviting. The culture of the staff team was open and transparent. The manager and staff were responsive to our feedback and committed to improving the service.

Rating at last inspection and why we inspected: This was the first inspection of the service since it registered as a regulated provider with CQC.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.