This inspection took place on the 4 July 2018 and was unannounced. Russell Lodge is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service is registered to accommodate up to five adults with learning disabilities or on the autistic spectrum. Five people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the previous inspection of this service in July 2016 we rated them as Good overall. We found one breach of regulations because staff had not received training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and rated the Effective question as Requires Improvement. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key question of Effective to at least good. During this inspection we found this issue had been addressed.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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.

There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Checks had been carried out to help ensure the premises was safe. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. Procedures were in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

Systems were in place to assess people’s needs before they started using the service to determine if those needs could be met. Staff received on-going training and supervision to support them in their role. People were able to make choices for themselves and the service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they enjoyed the food. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity. We saw staff interacting with people in a caring manner. Steps had been taken to promote people’s right to confidentiality and to support needs relating to equality and diversity.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. Care plans were subject to regular review. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint. People were supported to engage in various social and leisure activities.

Staff and people spoke positively about the senior staff at the service. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of support provided. Some of these included seeking the views of people who used the service.

This inspection took place on 19 July 2016 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in November 2014 we found the provider was meeting the regulations and we rated the service as good.

Russell Lodge is a care home that provides accommodation with personal care for up to five adults with learning disabilities. There were five people living there when we inspected. Each person had their own bedroom with a handbasin and shared communal bathrooms and other facilities, including a walk-in shower room for people with mobility needs. The service premises had a paved garden for people to use. The service is provided by Care One Limited.

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.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. We observed staff interacting with people and saw they knew them well and understood their individual needs. There was a stable staff group who had built a warm and caring rapport with people over a number of years. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming and we saw people smiling and relaxing with staff and each other.

There were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of the people living in the service and keep them safe. Safeguarding procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people. The staff records showed staff received appropriate training to keep people safe including moving and handling, health and safety, infection control, food safety and safeguarding training. However they had not had been trained in the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Staff had regular supervision and could talk to the registered manager about any concerns. There were regular staff meetings and staff were encouraged to make suggestions to the registered manager.

People knew how to complain about things they didn’t like or made them unhappy. Staff were responsive to people’s wishes and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were encouraged to enjoy a range of activities both inside and outside the service and staff were responsive to what people wanted to do each day. Staff encouraged people to take an active part in the running of the service, helping with chores and cooking for each other with support from staff. People were involved in choosing menus and shopping for food. People’s relatives were encouraged to visit and invited to a Christmas party each year. Relatives were invited to comment on the quality of the care given through a regular questionnaire.

People had care plans and risk assessments which were used to support them safely and with things they wanted help with. There were regular fire drills and people with reduced mobility had rooms on the ground floor but there were no personal emergency evacuation plans in people’s care records. We have made a recommendation about personal evacuation plans for people who had reduced mobility.

Staff understood people’s need for privacy and dignity. They asked before they did things to help people and they knew people well enough to interpret facial expressions and behaviour when people couldn’t say what they wanted. The staff interactions we saw were sensitive, respectful and friendly.

People were encouraged to look after their health and wellbeing and there was a visiting massage therapist each week which people really enjoyed. People were encouraged to eat a healthy diet and they told us they enjoyed the food. When people were unwell staff made sure they saw their doctor and other health professionals. Staff supported people when they had to attend hospital appointments.

The registered manager was well liked by people and by staff. They w

This inspection took place on 12 November 2014 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in November 2013 we found the provider was meeting the regulations in relation to outcomes we inspected.

Russell Lodge is a care home that provides accommodation and with personal care for up to five adults with learning disabilities.

There is a registered manager in place. 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.

People told us that they were happy with the care they received. We observed staffs interaction with people and saw that they knew them well and understood their needs. The staff we spoke with told us “we know the people’s needs well.”

There were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of the people living at the home and keep them safe. The staff records we saw indicated staff had received appropriate training to keep people safe including moving and handling, health and safety, safeguarding and food safety training.

Safeguarding procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported. The home had policies and procedures in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They aim to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The safeguards should ensure that a care home, hospital or supported living arrangement only deprives someone of their liberty in a safe and correct way, and that this is only done when it is in the best interests of the person and there is no other way to look after them. We looked at the care records people using the service and saw assessments had been carried out with people to identify their specific care and support needs. People using the service had been able to express their views and preferences about how their care and support was delivered. These assessments had been used to develop people’s individual care plans. People were supported in promoting their independence and were given opportunities to express their choices and to make decisions in their daily lives. Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity and staff interactions with people using the service were sensitive and respectful.

People said they knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy about the support they received and that they would let the manager or a member of staff know. The registered manager had regular contact with people using the service and their representatives. They welcomed suggestions on how they could develop the services and make improvements. Where shortfalls or concerns were raised these were addressed.

During this inspection we spoke with two people who lived at the service and two staff members. We also looked at key records. These included care plans, risk assessments, training records, minutes of meetings and daily records. This helped us better understand how well the home was being run. There were five people living at the home on the day of the inspection.

People were involved in their care and were encouraged to do things for themselves which helped promote their independence and self esteem. We observed a meal time where one person was very pleased to have eaten dinner without the need for assistance. They were encouraged by staff in a positive and supportive manner.

All the staff we spoke with were able to tell us about people's needs and were knowledgeable about the people they cared for. One relative in the annual questionnaire said the service had "very friendly staff who know the service users extremely well and have their best interests at heart."

Systems were in place to ensure people were safeguarded from harm. People told us that they felt safe living there. We saw good record keeping to manage people's money.

We saw that the environment was clean and comfortable. We saw records to demonstrate that regular checks to maintain the property and keep it safe, were in place.

The staff member we spoke with told us they felt supported by the manager and had regular training opportunities to help them in the skills needed for their work.

One person who used the service told us how happy he was to be listened to and taken on the holiday he wanted. One relative told us his brother had 'done things he's never done before' [as a result of using the service]. He was informed by the provider whenever there were issues and how they were dealing with them. He told us the provider is 'protective of the residents' and that his brother's health issues were well managed and he felt he was happy to using the service. Another relative told us 'this is the best home [her relative] had been in. They are 24/7 caring'.

Although people using the service did not tell us directly how they experienced all aspects of the service, we concluded that they were quite pleased with it. We drew our conclusions from their positive and pleasant engagements with the staff, as well as the level of peace and comfort that they enjoyed in the home.

They showed us their art work and records of their individual activities for example, writing. In all cases people using the service were proud of what they had done and were happy with the staff support that was provided to them at Russell Lodge.

One person specifically told us that they enjoyed bowling and did this on a regular basis. We observed another person selecting a music channel on the television, which they were enjoying on the day of our visit. Staff told us that they gave people opportunities to choose what they liked and respected those choices.

We spoke with a community healthcare professional who supported one person using the service and they told us that the staff were very courteous and polite. They also told us, “The staff were very good at pressure area care and treated the resident with dignity and respect”. They gave examples of how the person was treated with respect which included, ensuring that they were always seen in private and were always well presented.