This inspection took place on 11 September 2017 and was unannounced. This means prior to the inspection people were not aware we were inspecting the service on that day.

Lonnen Grove is a six bed nursing home, providing care to adults with learning disabilities and other support needs. At the time of the inspection there were six people living at the home. The home is located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is in its own grounds in a quiet, residential area, but close to public transport links and the town centre.

The home 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.

Our last inspection at Lonnen Grove took place on 28 May and 3 June 2015. The home was rated as Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We received positive feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. People we spoke with told us they felt safe and relatives also said the home provided safe care.

Staff employed at the home had been recruited in a way that helped to keep people safe because thorough checks were completed prior to them being offered a post.

Staff and people who used the service were mutually respectful. People were seen enjoying the company of staff and staff spoke with people in a polite and caring way. We saw staff advising and supporting people in a way that maintained their privacy and dignity.

Staff said communication in the home was very good and they felt able to talk to the managers' and make suggestions. There were meetings for people who used the service, relatives and staff where they could share ideas and good practice.

There was a strong and visible person centred culture at the home. Staff described working as one big team and being committed to providing care and support to people that was centred on their individual needs.

The environment was welcoming and inclusive. There were systems in place to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the service, with a strong emphasis on promoting and sustaining

improvements.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We checked care plans and saw that each person had individual plans of care that were tailored to their specific needs. The care plans contained a large amount of detail so that staff could understand exactly how care should be given to people. We observed care taking place and saw that staff were carrying out tasks in accordance with each person’s care plan.

People we spoke with told us that they were involved in day to day decisions about their care. The manager told us that one of the people using the service at the time of the inspection had been appointed as “dignity champion.” This role involved them contributing to the provider’s work around dignity, and acting on behalf of other people.

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. We carried out a visual inspection of the premises, and found that all areas we checked were cleaned to a high standard. The building was maintained to a very high standard, so that all areas were free from damage and could be thoroughly cleaned.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. The rotas we checked showed that there was flexibility available to cover for sickness, leave and staff training.

The provider kept a record of complaints made and details of how they were addressed. We saw that where complaints had been received they had been dealt with in a timely manner.

We saw that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.

We spoke with people using the service and they gave us a very positive picture of their experience of receiving care and support at the home.

The premises were generally in a good condition, although we identified that the systems for monitoring repairs may not have been effective on one occasion.

Thorough and appropriate background checks were carried out on staff before they commenced work. This included ensuring staff underwent Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks.

Records within the home were kept to a high standard and contained appropriate information to ensure that people's needs could be met.

People told us they had confidence in the staff and were, “Well looked after”.

People told us that staff explained all procedures and treatment to them and respected their decisions about care. They said that their interactions with staff were positive and they were treated as individuals.

The inspection was unannounced, and was carried out over two days; 28 May and 3 June 2015. The home was previously inspected in November 2013, where no breaches of legal requirements were identified.

Lonnen Grove is a six bed nursing home, providing care to adults with learning disabilities and other support needs. At the time of the inspection there were six people living at the home.

Lonnen Grove is located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is in its own grounds in a quiet, residential area, but close to public transport links and the town centre.

At the time of the 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

During the inspection people told us, or indicated, that they were very happy with the home, and staff we spoke with and observed understood people’s needs and preferences well. When we observed care taking place, staff demonstrated that they ensured people made their own decisions and ensured people were offered choices.

We found that staff received a good level of training, and further training was scheduled to take place in the coming months. The home placed a great deal of emphasis on risk management and independence, and staff spoke with knowledge about how to balance managing risk with promoting independence. Throughout the inspection we saw that staff showed people using the service a high degree of respect and took steps to maintain their privacy and dignity.

The provider had taken appropriate steps to ensure that, where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions about their care and welfare, the correct legal procedures were followed to protect the person’s rights.

The provider had effective systems in place to ensure people’s safety. This included staff’s knowledge about safeguarding, and up to date and thorough risk assessments.