About the service: Royal Mencap Society – Church Road is a residential care home that was providing personal care to four people with a learning disability at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People told us they liked living at the service; it felt like their home and staff were caring to them.

• There were care plans and risk assessments in place to provide guidance to staff in how to support people.

• People were encouraged to be independent, to work and to take part in activities and hobbies they were interested in.

• Staff were supported in their role through induction, supervision and training and told us they enjoyed working at the service.

• The registered manager and area manager knew the people and their care needs well.

• There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service at a local and provider level. • The service benefitted from being part of a large organisation that supports people with a learning disability as the provider employed specialist staff to support services working with people with behaviours that can challenge. The provider also campaigned at a national level to improve the health outcomes for people with a learning disability and encouraged the service to take this work forward with local health professionals.

• The service met the characteristics of Good in all five areas and so the rating of the service is Good overall.

• More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

The last inspection took place on 10 August 2016 and was rated Good. The report was published on 5 September 2016.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

The inspection took place on 10 August 2016 and was unannounced.

The Royal Mencap Society provides accommodation and personal care at 7 Church Road for up to four people who have a learning disability. The service does not provide nursing care. There were three people living at the home when we inspected.

We last inspected the service on 28 August 2013 and found the service was meeting the required standards at that time.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 who lived at Church Road, their relatives and professionals involved with people’s care and support we spoke with gave us positive and complimentary feedback about the service and said that they had no concerns about the care and support that people received.

People told us they felt safe living at Church Road. People had health care and support plans in place to help staff know how they liked their needs to be met. Risks to people’s safety and welfare had been identified and support had been planned to enable people to live as safely as possible whilst enjoying a variety of opportunities for engagement and stimulation. There were appropriate numbers of staff available to meet people’s care and support needs.

Staff members understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported by the registered manager to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge. People enjoyed a varied healthy diet and their health needs were catered for.

The atmosphere at Church Road was homely, warm and welcoming and there was a comfortable rapport between the staff and people who used the service. People’s relatives were encouraged to be involved in developing people’s support plans and to visit the home at any time. Staff treated people with compassion, promoted their dignity and treated them with respect.

There was an open culture at the home, people’s relatives and staff told us that they were completely comfortable to speak with the registered manager if they had a concern. The provider had arrangements in place to regularly monitor health and safety and the quality of the care and support provided for people who used the service.

During our inspection of Church Road House on 29 August 2013, we saw evidence that staff had made every effort to identify and act on the wishes of people who lived there. One person told us, “I love it here. I am not told what to do.”

Care records we looked at showed that people’s needs and preferences had been thoroughly assessed, documented and reviewed. They had been personalised to each person who lived at the home and gave staff detailed guidance on how to provide the care and support they required.

The premises were safe, suitable and fit for purpose. Adequate emergency procedures were in place and the safety equipment we saw had been regularly checked and well maintained. One person said, “The house is very nice. I like my room; it’s big.”

Records we looked at showed that the provider had put effective recruitment procedures in place. These ensured that staff were fit, able and properly trained to meet the needs of people who lived at the home. We saw that appropriate checks had been carried out before staff began work.

Records we saw during our inspection showed that the provider had put systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of services provided at the home.

People we spoke with told us they were happy living at Church Road, and they liked the staff. One person said, “The house is very homely, like your own home. It’s very good here and I’m not leaving.” Staff treated people with respect and supported people to maintain as much independence as possible.

Care records were personalised to each individual and gave staff good guidance on the care and support each person needed, as well as the ways in which they preferred their support to be delivered. Some of the risks to individuals had been assessed, but risk management plans were not always in place.

Staff had all undergone training in safeguarding vulnerable adults and were clear about their responsibilities to report anything they felt was not right. Medicines were given safely and as prescribed.

Staff had undertaken sufficient training relevant to their role, to be able to offer people the support they needed. Staff received regular supervision and an annual appraisal. They felt supported by the manager and the staff team. One member of staff said, “This is a nice environment to work in. I’m very happy; I should have done this years ago.”

The provider had a complaints procedure in place. People we spoke with said they would feel comfortable talking with staff but they had never had any reason to complain.