About the service:

• The service is in a residential area of Market Harborough, close to the town centre.

• The service provides accommodation and personal care to people with learning disabilities and autism, people with mental health needs and younger people. The care home can accommodate 10 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were seven people using the service.

• This is one of 10 locations that the provider operates.

People's experience of using this service:

• The service did not comprehensively provide a safe service. It continued to provide, compassionate and well-led care.

• People liked living at the service.

• There was a homely atmosphere and the staff enjoyed caring for people.

• People were largely protected against abuse, neglect and discrimination. However, not all staff were not aware of how to ensure people's safety or how to act when necessary to prevent any harm.

• Staff knew people well. They had developed good relationships with people. People enjoyed the presence and attention from staff.

• People were assisted to have choice and control of their lives. However, the quiet lounge was locked, acting as a barrier to people freely using this room.

• People had a say in how the service was operated and managed.

• People's care was personalised to their individual needs.

• Appropriate governance processes were in place to ensure quality care.

• The service met the characteristics for a rating of "good" in key questions except Safe.

• More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

• At our last inspection, the service was rated "good". Our last report was published on 16 June 2016.

Why we inspected:

• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

• We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people received safe, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

This inspection took place on the 8 June 2016 and was unannounced.

Herons Lodge provides care and support for up to ten people who have mental health needs, learning difficulties or autistic spectrum disorders. On the day of our inspection there were seven people living at the service.

The service had 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 who were able to talk to us told us they felt safe living at Herons Lodge. Relatives we spoke with agreed that their loved ones were safe. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibilities for keeping people safe and were aware of what to look out for if they suspected that someone was at risk of harm.

The risks associated with people’s care and support had been assessed. Where risks had been identified, these had been where ever possible removed or reduced. This was so that people could be provided with the safest possible care.

The registered manager had carried out an initial assessment of people’s care and support needs prior to them moving into the service. This was so that they could be confident that people’s needs could be met by the staff team working at the service.

Before any new member of staff started working at the service, the necessary checks had been carried out. This was to ensure that as far as possible, only suitable people worked there.

All new members of staff had been provided with a comprehensive induction into the service. This enabled them to get to know the people using the service and learn the day to day requirements of the role of a support worker.

Not all of the staff team had received the training they required. The registered manager and operations manager immediately addressed this. A training plan was drawn up and where a staff member had not completed certain training, this was arranged. All outstanding training was expected to be completed by July 2016.

People received their medicines as prescribed and in a safe way. Medicines were being appropriately stored and the necessary records were being kept. There were thorough systems in place to audit the management of medicines.

People’s nutritional and dietary requirements had been assessed. They had been fully involved in the development of the menus that were in place and these catered for their individual needs.

People had been involved in making day to day decisions about their care and support and capacity assessments had been carried out when necessary. This was to assess people’s ability to make decisions for themselves. Although the registered manager and the staff members we spoke with understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, not all of the staff members we spoke with had received training on this subject.

We were told that the staff team were kind and caring to both the people using the service and their relatives and friends. Observations during our visit confirmed this.

Meetings for the people using the service and the staff team were held on a regular basis. Weekly and monthly meetings provided the people using the service with the opportunity to be involved in the service and have a say.

Staff members we spoke with felt supported by the registered manager. They explained that they were given the opportunity to meet with them on a regular basis and felt able to speak with them if they had any concerns or suggestions of any kind.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service being provided. Regular audits on the documentation held had been completed and regular checks on the environment and on the equipment used to maintain people’s safety had been carried out.

The registered manager had been in post for about one and a half years, and told us she had sought to bring about improvements in a number of areas.

Family members of people who lived at the home told us they were happy with the care and support provided.

One relative told us, “I am very pleased with the quality of care.” Another family member told us, “The manager is good, and deals with any questions straight away. She picks up the ‘phone and makes time for me.”

We saw that rooms in the home were spacious, clean and decorated with personal effects of the people who lived there. We saw the staff approached their work in a caring and supportive manner. When we spoke with the staff they were able to explain their role to us and understood their responsibilities to ensure people were cared for appropriately and their needs were met.

We looked at the record keeping in the home and found that some improvements were required in security and storage of archived material. The Services Manager told us that new security cabinets were on order and an audit had been planned to review the management of information at the home.

People told us they liked living at Herons Lodge and liked the staff. People experienced active and busy lives and were able to pursue their hobbies and interests.