The inspection visit took place on 17 and 23 August 2017. The first day was an unannounced visit and the second day was a detailed telephone discussion with the registered manager who was unavailable on the first day of the inspection. 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.

At our last inspection of the service in July 2016 we rated the provider as requires improvement overall with specific concerns identified under the domains of Safe and Well Led. At this inspection we found that sufficient improvements had been made to meet the relevant requirements.

The provider New Servol is a registered charity. The provider operates School Road as a service that provides personal support for up to nine adults with primarily mental health needs. The service’s main aim is to assist people to develop or relearn the life skills to enable them to live independently in the community. At our inspection seven people were using the service.

People were protected because updated risk assessments had been completed to reduce the risk of harm for all the people who lived at the service.

Sufficient numbers of support workers were available throughout the week to consistently meet people's identified support needs.

People who lived at the service felt secure and safe with their support workers who were available to support them, when needed. The provider also had systems in place to keep people safe from the risk of abuse.

The provider had effective recruitment processes for support workers and ensured they received the necessary induction and training to meet the support needs of people living at the service.

People were supported and received their medicines as prescribed by their healthcare professionals.

Peoples' consent was obtained before providing support. The provider understood and the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the need to consider Court of Protection applications where appropriate.

People were supported by support workers to be as independent as possible and were able to make choices and to take responsibility for their own daily activities. People prepared their own food and drink at times to suit them. The provider and support workers ensured people were encouraged to consider healthier food and drink options.

People's health and support needs were assessed and people were supported to access to local health care professionals to ensure their health care needs were met.

People confirmed they were supported by caring and respectful staff who maintained their privacy and dignity.

People’s support needs were clearly recorded in person centred support plans which were regularly reviewed.

People knew how to complain about the service they received and were supported to make complaints.

The provider had improved their management systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service and was taking action to improve consistency across their services.

The inspection visit took place on 28 and 29 July 2016. The first day was an unannounced visit and the second day was announced. This was the provider’s first inspection of this location since its registration in November 2014.

School Road is a service that provides accommodation and support for up to nine adults with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection seven people were living there.

There was no registered manager in post. The acting manager has submitted an application to the Care Quality Commission that is currently being processed. 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.

Although risk assessments had been completed to reduce the risk of harm for people who lived at the service, these were not always consistent and required some improvement.

People felt there were not always sufficient staff members available to consistently meet people’s identified support needs. We have made a recommendation to the provider to review how staffing numbers are assessed.

The provider had management systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service however they were not always effective and required some improvement.

People who lived at the service felt secure and safe in the knowledge that staff were available to support them, when they needed to be supported. The provider had systems in place to keep people safe from the risk of abuse.

The provider ensured staff were effectively recruited and they received the necessary training to meet the support needs of people.

People received their medicines as prescribed by healthcare professionals.

Staff sought peoples’ consent before providing support. Staff understood the circumstances when the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should be followed.

People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and were supported to make choices and to take responsibility for their own daily routines. People prepared their own food and drink at times to suit them and were encouraged to consider healthy food and drink options.

People had good access to health care professionals to ensure their health care needs were met.

People were supported by caring and respectful staff who maintained their privacy and dignity.

People’s health and support needs were assessed and reviewed and they were encouraged to participate in activities and interests if they wished. People knew how to complain about the support they received and felt confident their concerns would be addressed.