Somerset House is a residential care home for six people with assessed mental health needs. At the time of the inspection the home had full occupancy. The home is a large converted three storey house with all single rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms were situated on the first and second floors. There is a lounge, kitchen and dining room on the ground floor. The home is close to local amenities and to Bolton town centre.

The provider has three small care homes in Bolton and there is a registered manager that oversees all three homes. 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 we rated the serviced good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People remained safe at the home. Staff had undertaken training in safeguarding vulnerable adults and a safeguarding policy and procedure was in place. Any accidents or incidents were managed appropriately. Medicines were safely managed. Robust recruitment checks were in place for all new staff.

People’s needs were met by good staffing levels. Staff had completed essential training to equip them to carry out their role effectively. Staff received regular supervision meetings with management.

The service was working within the legal requirements of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People received kind and compassionate care. People’s privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. Staff knew what support people required and how this was offered.

Care records were person centred and contained detailed information. Care plans were reviewed and updated as necessary. Systems were in place to deal with any complaints or concerns.

The registered manager had systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of service and the care provided. The culture within the home was open and transparent. The registered manager worked in partnership with other agencies.

Somerset House is a three storey property in a residential area of Bolton. The home is close to local amenities and public transport. The home is registered to care for six adults with a mental health difficulties. This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 11 December 2015. We last inspected the home on 23 October 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we reviewed.

The home had a registered manager in post. The registered manager was responsible for another two of the company’s homes in the Bolton area. The registered manager assisted with the inspection as did the member of staff on duty. 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.

Staff recruitment procedures were safe. We saw appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff commenced work at the service to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

We found that suitable arrangements were in place to help safeguard people from abuse and staff? Do people need to be safeguarded from staff?.

Staffing levels were assessed and reviewed depending on what activities or appointments people had and if staff support was required.

Most of the people had lived at the home for a number of years and were happy with support they received.

We found the system for managing medicines were safe, people told us they were happy for staff to administer their medication.

People’s care records contained enough information to guide staff on the support required. All the people who used the service were independent and did not require any help with personal care. Staff encouraged and supported people as required with daily living tasks.

People who used the service were able to make decisions for themselves and were involved and consulted about the development of their care plan.

Food stocks were good and people who used the service were consulted about their preferred choice of food.

Risk assessments were in place for the safety of the premises and equipment.

We saw that people made decisions as to how they spent their day. People sometimes went out to the shops and to local pub.

We found the provider was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); these provide a legal framework for people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions for themselves and are helped to do so when needed. There was nobody living at Somerset House who was subject to a DoLs.

The service had an appropriate complaints procedure in place. We looked at the complaints log and saw there had been one complaint in 2015. This had been suitably addressed by the registered manager.

There was a system in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service. These included: satisfaction surveys, medication checks, people’s finances and care records.

We visited Somerset House on 23 October 2013. On arrival at the home we found some people were up and others were having a lie in. We saw staff were preparing a full cooked breakfast for people who wanted it.

We found the home to be warm, clean, tidy and bright. We were told the home had recently been decorated and new lights had been fitted.

Four people who used the service had lived at the home for several years and we had spoken in detail with them at previous inspections. We chatted in a group and no concerns were identified.

We observed a polite and respectful banter. It was evident there was a good relationship between staff and people who used the service.

We saw staff had access to relevant policies and procedures including safeguarding procedures and contact details.

We saw some feedback from a recent satisfaction survey completed in July 2013. Comments were positive and included: ‘I am satisfied here and I don’t want anyone to move me’. Another said, ‘I feel supported’.

There were only two people available to speak with during our visit. We have spoken with these people at previous inspections where they have told us that they were very satisfied with the care and support they received.

One person told us, “I’m fine, I have no complaints”.

Another told us, “It’s OK living here”.

We spoke with one person who told us that, “I have lived here for a good few years now. They look after us well, we do what we want really, I get up when I am ready and go to bed when I want.

Another said, “I am very happy here”.

One person told us about the holiday in Whitby that the gentlemen had recently been on. It was evident that from the way he related what they had done and the places they had visited it had been an enjoyable experience. He said, “We had a great time.”