We inspected St Oggs on 18 October 2016. The inspection was unannounced.

St. Oggs is situated in a residential area of Morton, Lincolnshire. The service provides accommodation for up to 21 people whose needs are associated with their mental health. There is a bungalow within the grounds of the home which enables up to two people to live a semi-independent lifestyle. There were 19 people living in the home at the time of our inspection.

There was an established registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. 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. The registered manager was not available during the inspection. A senior support worker who acts for the registered manager in their absence was available throughout the inspection.

People were happy living at St Oggs. They were supported to maintain a safe lifestyle and have as much control over their lives as they wanted and were able to have. They were involved in planning and reviewing their care and encouraged to express their views about how they wanted to be supported. People were supported to maintain their privacy and were treated with fairness and respect. They were able to express their choices about their leisure time and were supported to maintain their hobbies and interests.

People were supported and encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They had timely access to the healthcare services they needed. People enjoyed their meals and had enough to eat and drink.

People’s rights were respected in accordance with legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and the Equality Act 2010. They were supported to make decisions for themselves wherever they were able to do so. Where this was not possible they were supported through a best interests decision making process.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the MCA and DoLS and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way in order to protect themselves. No-one who lived in the home at the time of the inspection required authorised restrictions to their freedom. Staff understood when an application to restrict a person’s freedom may be necessary and they knew how to make such an application.

We found that people had developed trusting relationships with the staff who supported them. Staff had a detailed knowledge of people’s individual needs and wishes and provided support in line with them. Staff recognised the importance of maintaining people’s privacy and dignity and upholding their rights to equal treatment.

Staff were well trained and supported to manage people’s individual needs, and to keep up to date with good practice and relevant legislation. They were able to identify and manage any potential risks to people’s health, safety and welfare. The provider had systems in place to ensure that people were protected from the risk of abuse and staff knew how to contact other agencies to report any concerns of this nature.

The provider had systems in place to ensure that they only employed staff who were suitable and safe to work with people who lived in the home. They and the registered manager ensured there were enough staff with the right skills to provide people with appropriate care and support.

The provider and the registered manager maintained systems to enable people to raise concerns or complaints and have them resolved. People also had opportunities to provide their feedback about the quality of the service by way of questionnaires and house meetings.

Systems were in place to ensure tha

Prior to our inspection we reviewed all the information we had received from the provider. We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. We spoke with three residents, the registered manager, the cook and two carers. We also looked at some of the records held in the service including the care files for two people. We observed the support people who used the service received from staff and carried out a brief tour of the building.

We found that support workers demonstrated they had a very good understanding of the needs, routines and preferences of the people they cared for. They encouraged people to express their views and ensured people were actively involved in making decisions about their care and support options

People told us they were provided with a good choice and variety of food and drink that met their individual needs. Comments included, “It’s a great place and we are all fed well.”

We found that staff were only employed once an effective recruitment and selection process had been undertaken and people felt the staff had the right qualifications, skills and knowledge to perform their duties.

People told us they felt confident in reporting any issues or concerns to the registered manager and any complaints they might have would be dealt with appropriately.

Due to the complex needs of the people who lived at the service we used a number of different methods to help us understand their experiences. During our visit we observed how staff interacted with and supported people with their care and activity needs. We looked at some records. These included care records and information about how the service operated.

We spoke with four people who lived at the home and two staff members. We also spoke with the providers Director of Adult Services who was present at the home on the day of our visit. The registered manager was not available on the day so we spoke with her on the telephone.

We saw that people were cared for and treated with dignity and respect. We observed staff communicating with people about activities and support. One person told us "I can make a drink whenever I like.” Another person said “It is excellent here. I have a very nice room.”

Where appropriate, we found evidence that relatives of people who used the service were involved in reviews about peoples care and treatment.

We also found that the provider monitored the service and gained views on the service from relatives and from people who used the service. This was done by sending questionnaires to families and by enabling people who used the service to complete satisfaction surveys. Regular meetings with people who used the service also contributed information to be used to improve quality.

We visited the service on 25 January 2012. We spoke with four people who told us that they were happy living at St Oggs. One person told us that they had lived there for several years and would never want to move. They said the care was right for them and they were able to choose everything from the food they ate, to how they were supported by staff.

People told us that they had opportunities to go out with the staff and there were always activities to take part in if they wanted to. All the people we spoke with told us there were always plenty of staff on duty who took time to talk with them if they were worried about anything.

One person told us that the staff were very good, kind and caring and were always there when needed.

We observed that people seemed very relaxed and content and this was confirmed by those we spoke with.