Pennings View is a care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection five people were living at the home.

This inspection took place on 5 April 2017 and was unannounced. We returned on 6 April 2017 to meet with the registered manager and complete the inspection.

At the last inspection in October 2015, we identified that the service was breaching regulations relating to management of risks people faced. At this inspection we found the provider had taken action to address this breach of the regulations.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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.

Plans to manage risks people faced contained up to date information and provided clear guidance to staff on the support people needed. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs and how to safely manage the risks they faced.

People said they liked living at Pennings View and told us staff were nice to them. One person told us, “I am happy living at Pennings View. I feel safe here”. Some people were not able to tell us whether they felt safe, but we observed that people appeared comfortable in the presence of staff. People smiled at staff and attracted their attention to request support. We observed staff interacting with people in a way that was friendly and respectful

Medicines were safely managed and people who use the service were positive about the care and support they received.

There were systems in place to protect people from abuse and harm and staff knew how to use them. Staff understood the needs of the people they were supporting. People were confident concerns or complaints they raised would be responded to and action would be taken to address their problem

Staff received training suitable to their role and an induction when they started working for the service. They demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as the values and philosophy of the service.

The provider assessed and monitored the quality of the service provided and had clear plans to address areas where they had identified improvements were needed.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

This was an unannounced inspection.

The service had a registered manager who was responsible for the day to day operation of the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.  Although there was a registered manager in place, they informed us during the inspection that they were stepping down from the role. A new manager had been appointed and told us he would be submitting an application to CQC to become the registered manager.

Pennings View is a care home for up to seven people with a learning disability. At the time of our visit there were seven people living at the home.

Some people’s capacity to make decisions had not been properly assessed. This increased the risk that people would have unnecessary restrictions placed on them which limited their lifestyles.  

The provider did not effectively assess the quality of the service that was being provided. The service did not have a system to identify shortfalls, plan improvements and check that improvements have been implemented effectively.  

Staff did not have all of the skills and training needed to meet some people’s specific needs. The provider had taken action to ensure people remained safe and was planning further training for staff to be able to provide the care that people needed.

People told us they felt safe at Pennings View and were protected from abuse. Staff knew how to identify whether people were at risk of abuse and action needed to protect people.

Staff understood people’s needs and provided care is a kind and respectful way. People were positive about living at Pennings View and said they received good care and support.

Staff supported people to attend health appointments and to implement programmes devised by health and social care professionals.

We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

During our visit we met four of the people who lived at the home. We were greeted at the door by two people, who invited us in.

We met with the manager and staff on duty.

Due to their lack of verbal communication we were not able to ask everyone we met about their views on the service. One person said they “liked” living at the home and they were happy with their key worker.

We observed staff encouraged people to make day to day choices, such as what they would like to eat and drink.

We saw major decisions were made in people’s best interests and within a multi-disciplinary team.

Records demonstrated medicines were administered properly. Protocols were in place for the use of ‘as required’ medicines.

The manager told us the staff rota was flexible which ensured people’s needs could be met and they could access appointments and activities.

Arrangements were in place to enable people to raise concerns, if needed.

We met the seven people using the service when we arrived at the home. The majority of people were preparing to go to day services.

We were able to speak to three people during our visit. At the time of our visit the manager was not on duty. We spoke with three members of staff who assisted us throughout the day. We spoke with one relative after our visit to the home. They said “I am absolutely happy with the service”.

When we arrived at the home a person using the service opened the door and invited us inside. They advised a member of staff we had arrived.

People told us they liked living at the home. They told us they were going to play a game until it was time to leave for day services. They said they enjoyed going to day services to meet with friends.

During our visit we heard staff interacting with people in a friendly and professional manner.

People told us they were pleased to be going to the day service run by the company.

One person showed us their bedroom. They showed us the Makaton signs they used. They talked to us so only used the signs to communicate with some of the other people who lived there or at the day service. They said that their keyworker helped them to clean and tidy their bedroom. They showed us the laundry room where everyone took it in turns to use the machines.

One person did not want to talk to us because they were feeling ill.

A male member of staff was supporting two women who had chosen not to go out to day services. He said he would ask for assistance from the female staff working in the care home next door if personal support was needed. There was no record in people’s files about whether they had been consulted about who should provide their intimate personal care.

Prescribed medicines were not always recorded in people’s care plans or in the medicine administration record.

It was difficult to see what peoples current needs were as the files had not been rationalised so that only up to date information was available. People’s personal information was not always held securely, so anyone could look at it. Confidential and personal information was being recorded in the staff handover book. Daily records were located in an unlocked drawer in a communal area.

Pennings View is a care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection seven people were living at the home.

This inspection took place on 8 October 2015 and was unannounced. We returned on 12 October 2015 to complete the inspection.

At the last inspection in May 2014, we identified that the service was breaching regulations relating to making decisions when people did not have capacity to consent and assessing the quality of service provided and planning improvements. At this inspection we found the provider had taken action to address these breaches of the regulations.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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.

Plans to manage risks people faced did not always contain up to date information or provide clear guidance to staff on the support that people needed. Despite the lack of clear information, staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs and were consistent in their descriptions of the support people needed.

People said they liked living at Pennings View and told us staff were nice to them. One person told us, “I am happy here, I feel safe”. Some people were not able to tell us whether they felt safe, but we observed that people appeared comfortable in the presence of staff. People smiled at staff and attracted their attention to request support. We observed staff interacting with people in a way that was friendly and respectful.

Medicines were safely managed and people who use the service were positive about the care and support they received.

There were systems in place to protect people from abuse and harm and staff knew how to use them. Staff understood the needs of the people they were supporting. People were confident concerns or complaints they raised would be responded to and action would be taken to address their problem.

Staff received training suitable to their role and an induction when they started working for the service. They demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as the values and philosophy of the service.

The provider assessed and monitored the quality of care and had clear plans to address areas where improvements were needed.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.