What life is like for people using this service:

People were fully involved in their day to day lives through being empowered to make their own choices about where they spent their time, who with and how. Their independence was promoted and staff actively ensure people maintained links with their family and friends.

People were supported by staff who were kind, caring and respectful. Staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible. Staff knew peoples like and dislikes and knew how to motivate people to support them to lead a fulfilling life. People were supported to integrate within the community.

The registered manager carried out a range of audits and quality assurance checks to ensure the service was safe and that people were happy with the care they received.

People felt listened to and had opportunities to express their concerns as well as input into how the service was run.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (The date last report published was 22 September 2016)

About the service:

Longcroft is a residential care home that provides accommodation and support for up to seven people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection seven people were living at the service.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains overall Good.

Follow up:

Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.

The inspection took place on the 30 August 2016.

Longcroft Residential Care Home is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to six people with mental health needs. There were six people receiving a service on the day of our inspection.

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.

The service provided good care and support to people enabling them to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. People were supported by skilled and well trained staff who ensured people were safe and encouraged them to achieve their full potential and live as independently as possible.

Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were appropriately assessed, managed and reviewed. People were cared for by staff that had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed which ensured people were protected from the risk of avoidable harm. There were sufficient staffing levels to meet people’s assessed needs. People’s medicines were managed appropriately so they received them safely.

People’s capacity to consent had been assessed. The registered manager and staff demonstrated a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staff and people enjoyed excellent relationships. Staff knew people well and were kind and sensitive to their needs and ensured their privacy and dignity was respected. People told us they were happy with the care and support they received. People’s nutritional needs were met and people were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. People received support to access health care professionals and services when required.

Care plans were regularly reviewed and people were involved in the planning of their care. Staff shared information effectively which meant that any changes in people’s needs were responded to appropriately. People were provided with the opportunity to participate in activities which interested them.

There were systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service provided and people living and working in the service had the opportunity to say how they felt about the home and the service it provided. The registered manager was able to demonstrate how they measured and analysed the care and support provided to people, and how this ensured that the service was operating safely and was continually improving to meet people’s needs.

Longcroft Residential Care Home provides accommodation and support for up to five people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were five people living in the home. There is a registered manager at the service.

People who lived in the home told us they felt safe in the home and there were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are a code of practice to supplement the main MCA 2005 code of practice. We looked at whether the service was applying DoLS appropriately and found they were meeting the requirements of the code.

There was effective communication between people who lived in the home and staff. People were involved in planning their care and support and their views were respected.

People living in the home said that staff were caring and helped them to do the things that they wanted.

The home was well led by a competent manager. People living in the home were confident that they could raise and concerns and they would be dealt with appropriately.

During our inspection people who used the service told us that the food was good and that if there was something that they didn't like on the menu staff would always provide them with something different. They also told us that food and drink was available whenever they wanted, including at night if they wanted a snack.

We saw that monthly audits of medications had taken place and that there were no actions from these audits for completion.

People told us that there were always enough staff on duty to provide support to them if they needed it, for example, helping them to the bank.

The staff that we spoke with said that they received formal supervision every couple of months but they could always get help and advice when they needed it.

People who used the service told us that they could make a complaint to the manager if necessary and told us where the forms were if they needed to complain. The records seen were up to date with a daily entry written for each person who used the service on the computer system in use.

People told us that staff knew their needs and respected their independence. One person told us that it's "nice to go out each morning to get the newspaper", they explained that this is what they had always done.

We spoke with a healthcare professional who told us that staff communicated well with them, care records were clear and easy to follow and people using the service were happy there.

We saw from quality assurance questionnaires comments like, "We are very happy and more importantly so is [their relative]...The staff are excellent and [their relative's] needs are more than met."

We saw that people using the service felt like it was home and the level of independence and choice given to people by staff supported this. During our we saw people had gone out to the shops, others were sitting in the garden smoking, or watching television.