This was inspection was carried out 1 June 2016. Jackson House is a small care home. It provider accommodation with nursing care for up to four adults with a learning disability and mental health needs. The care home is a semi-detached cottage with a small car park. It has gardens to the front and rear of the property. Bedrooms are single occupancy and there are shared lounges and a shared dining area. At the time of our visit, four people lived at the home.

At the time of our inspection there was a manager in post. They had been in post approximately five months at the time of our visit and were in the process of applying to become the 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.’

At our last inspection in June 2015 we had concerns with regards to Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to the safe recruitment of staff. At this inspection we saw that improvements had been made and the service was now compliant with this regulation. Staff were recruited safely with appropriate checks on their suitability completed before they started to work at the home.

People who used the service said they were happy with the support they received and liked living at the home. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about people’s needs and risks and what was important to each person. We saw that staff supported and encouraged people to pursue their social interests and aspirations. People were provided with person centred care in accordance with their care plans.

People’s care records provided detailed information about their needs and risks and how best to support them in accordance with their wishes and preferences. Records showed that risks were well managed and people’s needs were supported by multi-disciplinary teams in the community. For example, doctors, dentists, mental health services, specialist medical teams and podiatry and opticians. Arrangements were in place to regularly review people’s care to ensure the support provided continued to keep them safe and well.

Records showed evidence of good practice in relation to the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Capacity assessments were in place when a person’s capacity to consent to a particular decision was in question and we saw that any decisions made were taken in the person’s best interests. Some people were subject to a deprivation of liberty safeguards to keep them safe. During our visit, we observed a restriction being temporarily imposed. The reasons for the restriction were clearly explained to the person with alternative arrangements made to ensure their wishes were met later on in the day. This was good practice and showed that staff at the home worked hard to ensure any restriction placed on people’s liberty was as least restrictive as possible.

From our discussions with staff it was clear that they knew people well and genuinely cared for the people they looked after. Interactions between staff and the people who lived in the home were natural, relaxed and good humoured. It was obvious that people felt comfortable and close to the staff that supported them.

People’s independence was promoted and staff supported them to pursue their social and recreational interest in addition to organising volunteering opportunities for people to participate in. This gave people a sense of purpose. The people and staff we spoke with, told us about a recent holiday to Wales and about the various activities that they liked to enjoy together such as snooker, the cinema, golf and football. This indicated that people’s social and emotional well-being was an important aspect of

This inspection was unannounced and took place on the 01 June 2015.

This was the first inspection of Jackson House following a change of service provider.

Jackson House is a care home providing accommodation and both nursing and personal care for up to four adults with a learning disability. The service is provided by Caritas Services Limited.

The care home is a semi-detached cottage with drive, parking for three cars and gardens front and rear. The people who live there each have their own room and there are shared lounge and dining areas.

On the day of our inspection the service was providing accommodation and nursing care to four people.

At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager at Jackson House. The service was being managed by a registered manager from another service within the organisation

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.

During the day of our inspection, people living at Jackson House were observed to be comfortable and relaxed in their home environment and in the presence of staff. The manager and staff spoken with demonstrated a good awareness of the diverse needs and preferences of the people living at Jackson House and how best to provide care and support for people. We observed interactions between staff and people were kind, caring and personalised and noted that people were able to follow their preferred routines.

People using the service and relatives spoken with were generally complimentary of the standard of care provided at the home.

Comments received from people using the service included: “There’s nothing here that makes me frightened”; “It’s very nice here. I’m happy living here”; “I like it here. The food’s good and I like the staff” and “Yes. It’s ok here. I have plenty to do and don’t get bored the staff are ok.”

Likewise, feedback received from relatives included: “I know he is safe and cared for and happy. I have complete peace of mind that there is someone there who can meet his needs”; “At his last place the residents had to fit in with how the service worked whereas at Jackson it’s how the person is and the service works for them, not the other way round” and “The new manager is quite new so I don’t know her as much yet. She seems okay and she phoned me to say she is taking over. We’ve had a good talk and she is sounding proactive”.

We found that there were procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse however recruitment records did not always provide evidence of adequate safeguards for people living at Jackson House.

Additionally, training records viewed were not up-to-date to verify staff working at Jackson House had completed all the necessary induction, mandatory and other training that was relevant to individual roles and responsibilities.

You can see what action we told the registered provider to take at the back of the full report.