Merrywick Hall is a care home for up to 28 people with a learning disability or with autistic spectrum disorder. There are two floors and bedrooms are located on both floors. People who live on the first floor need to be able to use the stairs as there is no passenger lift. There is a bungalow in the grounds that is part of the same registration. On the day of the inspection there were 27 people living at the home.

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

People told us they felt safe living at the home. There were sufficient numbers of staff employed to make sure people received the support they needed, and those staff had been safely recruited.

Staff had received appropriate training to give them the knowledge and skills they required to carry out their roles. This included training on the administration of medicines and on how to protect people from the risk of harm.

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

Staff were kind, caring and considerate. They respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged them to be as independent as possible.

Care planning described the person and the level of support they required. Care plans were reviewed regularly to ensure they remained an accurate record of the person and their day to day needs.

People were given the opportunity to feedback their views of the service provided. People told us they were aware of how to express concerns or make complaints.

The manager was the registered manager for the home’s ‘sister’ service. However, they were not yet registered to manage Merrywick Hall.

The manager was gradually introducing new care planning documentation, quality assurance systems and other improved practices to provide consistency between the two services.

The manager carried out audits to ensure people were receiving the care and support that they required, and to monitor that staff were following the policies, procedures and systems in place.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 21 April 2015 and was unannounced. We previously visited the service on 11 December 2013; at that time the home was registered under the provider Willerfoss Homes and it is now registered under the provider Willerfoss Homes Limited. When we visited Merrywick Hall on 11 December 2013 we found that the registered provider met the regulations we assessed.

The service is registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 28 people with a learning disability. The home is located in Hedon, a market town close to Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is close to local amenities and on good transport routes. The home consists of a main house and a bungalow that is located within the same grounds. The bungalow accommodates five people who are more independent than the people who live in the main house. Most people have a single bedroom and some bedrooms have en-suite facilities.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and on the day of the inspection there was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 told us that they felt safe living at the home. Staff had completed training on safeguarding adults from abuse and were able to describe to us the action they would take if they had concerns about someone’s safety. They said that they were confident all staff would recognise and report any incidents or allegations of abuse and that concerns would be dealt with effectively by managers.

We observed good interactions between people who lived at the home and staff on the day of the inspection. People told us that staff were caring and compassionate and this was supported by the relatives and health / social care professionals who we spoke with.

People who used the service, relatives and social care professionals told us that staff were effective and skilled. Staff confirmed that they received induction training when they were new in post and told us that they were happy with the training provided for them.

People were supported to make their own decisions and when they were not able to do so, meetings were held to ensure that decisions were made in the person’s best interests. If it was considered that people were being deprived of their liberty, the correct authorisations had been applied for.

Medicines were administered safely by staff and the arrangements for ordering, storage and recording were robust.

We saw that there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the needs of people who lived at the home and to enable them to spend one to one time with people. New staff had been employed following the home’s recruitment and selection policies to ensure that only people considered suitable to work with vulnerable people had been employed.

People’s nutritional needs had been assessed and people told us that they were satisfied with the meals provided by the home. People were supported appropriately by staff to eat and drink safely and their special diets were catered for.

There were systems in place to seek feedback from people who lived at the home, relatives, health and social care professionals and staff. People’s comments and complaints were responded to appropriately.

People who lived at the home, relatives and staff told us that the home was well managed. The quality audits undertaken by the registered manager were designed to identify any areas of concern or areas that were unsafe, and there were systems in place to ensure that managers and staff reflected on practice and made any necessary improvements.