About the service: St Peters Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people with learning disabilities and mental health needs. At the time of the inspection six people were living there.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People told us they felt safe at the service and they developed trusting relationships with staff.

People told us staff helped them be more independent and live the life they wanted. They told us the support they received met their needs and staff were always kind and caring. People were helped to find what hobbies and interest they had and staff helped them pursue these.

People told us and we saw that they were involved in activities of daily living around the house, like cleaning, setting the tables and cooking.

Staff were complimentary about the management of the home. They told us they received training and support to carry out their roles effectively.

People had their capacity to understand and take decisions affecting their lives in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2004 principles. The registered manager submitted deprivation of liberty applications where there were restrictions placed on people’s freedom in order to keep them safe.

Care plans were developed for each area people needed support, and a risk assessment assessed if there were any risks to people’s well-being and health. Measures were in place to mitigate these. However, some parts of the care plan were repetitive, care plans were printed twice which made the care plans harder to navigate.

The registered manager effectively used the provider’s quality assurance systems to monitor the quality of care provided and improve the service.

People lived in a clean environment, however the building and the grounds needed some maintenance and decoration work. The registered manager told us they had already identified this and the provider was planning to complete the work as soon as it was possible.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 28 April 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated Good overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 22 December 2015 and was unannounced. The service provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder.

The service did not have a registered manager as they had recently left the organisation. A new manager had been appointed but was not yet registered. 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 felt safe and they were protected against the possible risk of harm. Risks to individuals had been assessed and managed appropriately. There were sufficient numbers of experienced and skilled staff to care for people safely. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines regularly and as prescribed.

People received care and support from staff who were competent in their roles. Staff had received relevant training and support for the work they performed. They understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. They were aware of how to support people who lacked mental capacity. People’s nutritional and health care needs were met. They were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing and had access to and received support from other health care professionals.

The experiences of people who lived at the home were positive. They were treated with kindness and compassion and they had been involved in decisions about their care where possible. People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was promoted.

People’s care needs were assessed, reviewed and delivered in a way that promoted their wellbeing. They were supported to pursue their leisure activities both outside the home and to join in activities provided at the home. An effective complaints procedure was in place.

There was a caring culture within the service and effective systems in operation to seek the views of people and other stakeholders in order to assess and monitor the quality of service provision.

We visited the service and were able to meet with five people who lived at the house. We also had the opportunity to meet with staff and to read documents and records relating to day to day events. We observed caring and understanding relationships between people and staff. Staff advised us that not everybody was able to understand some daily events and how they had to support them based on experience and information provided for them. We saw that there was a detailed calendar in place for activities.

One person who lived at the house told us, "It is great fun when we shop and staff know what we like to eat or drink". Another person we spoke with said, "We have nice things to do here". Staff and one of the people using the service commented on the improvements being made to the house and the extensive work which was a positive event.

We talked to people about their experiences as well as a visiting professional; we also made observations during our visit.

People told they were happy living at the service and that they liked staff and felt safe. One person told us, "I like it here, I like the food, I do cooking once a week which I really enjoy” and that, “I choose what I want to wear each day, I like to look nice”. The visiting professional told us, “We support one of the people who lives here, staff at the home really listen to us and take action to meet people’s changing needs”.

Staff also told us St Peters Home was a nice place to work and that they felt supported by management. We were also told that people’s privacy and dignity was respected and that staff always closed the doors when they were’re helping people with personal care. We observed that all the people appeared to have had their personal care needs met.

Overall we found that standards were met.