At the last inspection in July 2015 the service was rated Good.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Hamilton Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

At this unannounced inspection on the 19 September 2017 we found the service remained Good. The service met all relevant fundamental standards.

Hamilton Lodge is a care home for younger people with a learning disability. It can accommodate up to eight people. All eight rooms have en-suites facilities. There was a communal lounge and kitchen and accessible well managed gardens. The service is situated in Doncaster, close to local amenities. At the time of our inspection there were six people living at the service.

The service did not have a registered manager. 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. However, the provider had appointed a new manager who was commencing the process to register with CQC.

People received care and support from staff who understood how to keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and were clear about the steps they would need to take if they suspected someone was unsafe. Staff were available to meet people's needs and understood how to best support people and the risks to their well-being. People were supported by staff to receive their medicines as prescribed and checks were made to ensure staff supported people with their medicines appropriately.

Robust recruitments procedures ensured the right staff were employed to meet people’s needs safely. At the time of the inspection there was sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

Staff understood they could only care for and support people who consented to being cared for and throughout the inspection we saw people supported to communicate their choices. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received adequate nutrition and hydration to maintain their health and wellbeing. The premises were suitably designed and furnished for providing care and support to people with a learning disability.

People were treated with respect. People and their relatives told us staff were kind and very caring. Staff demonstrated a good awareness of how they respected people’s preferences and ensured their privacy and dignity was maintained. We saw staff took account of people’s individual needs and preferences while supporting them.

The provider promoted people's personal interests and hobbies. Social activities were organised in line with people's personal interests and there was a lively atmosphere at the service. People also received one to one support for activities in the community and had an organised holiday each year if this was their choice.

There had been a number of different managers since our last inspection, but feedback form people and their relatives was that the service was well-led. People had the benefit of a culture and management style that was inclusive and caring. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and had access to policies and procedures to inform and guide them.

A system was in place for checking the quality of the service using audits, satisfaction surveys and meetings. We found the environment could be improved and saw the quality monitoring had identified this and it was being addressed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 15 July 2015 and was unannounced. The home was previously inspected in October 2013 and the service was meeting the regulations we looked at. However, the provider name was changed in July 2014 so this was the first inspection under the current provider name.

Hamilton Lodge is a care home for younger people with a learning disability. It can accommodate up to ten people. There are eight rooms with en-suites in the main house and two self-contained flats. At the time of our inspection we were told the flats were to be deregistered. There was a communal lounge and kitchen and accessible well managed gardens. The service is situated in Doncaster, close to local amenities. At the time of our inspection there were seven people living at the service.

The home has a registered manager. 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 we spoke with liked living at Hamilton Lodge. They told us they felt safe living at the service and the staff were considerate.

Medicines were stored safely and procedures were in place to ensure medicines were administered safely.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) includes decisions about depriving people of their liberty so that if a person lacks capacity they get the care and treatment they need where there is no less restrictive way of achieving this. The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) requires providers to submit applications to a ‘Supervisory Body’ for authority to deprive people of, or restrict their liberty. We found all staff we spoke with were very knowledgeable on the requirements of this legislation and had already assessed people who accessed the services to determine if an application was required.

People’s health was monitored and individual risks had been assessed. We spoke with people who used the service, we found people’s needs were met by staff who knew them well. However records did not always reflect this.

There was a robust recruitment system and all staff had completed an induction. Staff had received formal supervision and had an up to date annual appraisal of their work performance.

There were systems in place for monitoring quality, which were effective. Where improvements were needed, these were addressed and followed up to ensure continuous improvement.

The registered manager was aware of how to respond to a complaint if required, information on how to report complaints was clearly displayed in the service. People we spoke with did not raise any complaints or concerns about the service. Staff and people who used the service who we spoke with told us the registered manager was approachable, there was an open door policy and the service was well led. Staff told us this had improved since the new registered manager had been in post.