Ladycroft is a care home providing respite services for people with learning disabilities. The service can accommodate up to six people. All rooms are en-suite with facilities to meet the needs of people who have mobility problems. The service has also registered to provide personal care in peoples own home. The home is situated in Wath-Upon- Dearne, close to local shops and amenities.

At the last inspection in February 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People who used the service communicated to us that they felt safe living in the home. Their relatives spoke positively about the standard of care and support their family member received. Feedback we received from healthcare professionals was positive and complimentary.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in keeping people safe and had completed training in safeguarding adults.

People's medicines were managed safely, by staff that were trained in medicine administration.

In staff files we found all the information required to ensure people being employed were of good character. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. Staff were able to accommodate changes to visits as requested by the person who used the service or their relatives.

People received care that was delivered in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) because they were supported to make day to day choices and decisions about their lives. Appropriate and timely applications to ensure restrictions on people's liberty to leave the home had been made for everyone that needed them.

Staff were provided with appropriate support through a programme of regular training and on-going supervision and appraisal.

Staff supported people to maintain a healthy diet, keep their independence and continue to join in with social activities and hobbies that they enjoyed.

The registered manager investigated and responded to people’s complaints, according to the provider’s complaints procedure.

People who used the service, relatives, healthcare professionals and staff held the registered manager in high regard and spoke positively about the way the service was managed.

There were systems in place to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the service, with a strong emphasis on promoting and sustaining improvements.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People we spoke with told us they liked visiting Ladycroft and the staff were nice. Relatives told us staff were very good and their relative was well looked after. One relative told us, “the service is brilliant, it is the best we have ever used.” Another relative said, “The staff are great I couldn’t ask for anything any better.”

We observed people expressing their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. People were also asked for their consent before staff provided support or treatment.

We found people were supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts and the diet provided was nutritious. People told us they could choose what they wanted to eat and when they wanted to eat. One person came into the kitchen and asked for a sandwich while we were there and staff prepared this for them.

We found that the environment was well maintained in a clean and hygienic condition. We also found systems were in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Work to improve the environment was on-going at the time of our visit.

We found there was an effective recruitment and selection processes in place. Staff received appropriate professional development. However the documentation required to be available in respect of a person employed was not always available at the service.

We found there was an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service provided.

There was only one person at the service when we visited. They told us they enjoyed their stays at Ladyfield, always looked forward to the visits and did lots of activities.

People we spoke with told us the staff were very good, they looked after them, were pleasant and if you wanted to know anything they always helped you.

Some of the comments we received were;

“Well looked after”

“The food is brilliant”

“Staff are always available to help”

“We do lots of craft activities, which I like”

“I like it here the staff are very nice”

This inspection took place on 17 and 20 February 2015 and was unannounced. The home was previously inspected in November 2013 and the service was compliant with the regulations we looked at.

Ladycroft Respite Service is a care home for younger people with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection the service provided a respite service for 37 people. It can accommodate up to six people at any one time. All rooms have en-suite facilities. The service is purpose built and is able to meet the needs of people who have mobility problems. The service was also registered to provide personal care in peoples own home, however, at the time of our visit the provider had submitted an application to remove this regulated activity from this location. The home is situated in Wath-Upon- Dearne, close to local shops and amenities.

At the time of our inspection the service was full each night. There were two people still at the service on our first day of inspection and four people present on the second day. People we spoke with were happy with the service and praised the staff very highly. People also told us they felt safe staying at the service and the staff were all very kind.

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.

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. The manager had sought advice from the local authority to and was able to explain when a DoLS would be required.

People’s needs had been identified, and from our observations, we found people’s needs were met by staff who knew them well. Care records we saw detailed people’s needs and were regularly reviewed.

There was a robust recruitment system and all staff had completed an induction. Staff had received formal supervision and staff 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 told us they had received no formal complaints since our last inspection, but was aware of how to respond if required. People we spoke with did not raise any complaints or concerns about staying at the service. Staff, people and their relatives we spoke with told us the manager was approachable and the service was well led.