5 Station Road provides support for up to four people who had a learning disability and needed support to manage their epilepsy. At the time of our inspection there were four people living at the service. At the last inspection, in November 2014, the service was rated Good in all domains. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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. The registered manager was not available at the time of the inspection, however, the residential manager was available.

People continued to receive safe care and we found there were enough staff to provide support to people that met their needs. We found that people were consistently protected from the risk of harm and received their medicines safely. The provider had safe recruitment procedures in place to ensure that staff were of a good character and suitable to support people who used the service.

People continued to be supported to make decisions about their care and staff sought people’s consent before they carried out support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People had access to health care services and advice sought was followed by staff to ensure people’s health and wellbeing was maintained. People were involved in meal planning and preparation. People were able to choose what they wanted to eat and drink. Staff received training to enable them to support people’s specific needs effectively.

People were treated with dignity and staff were caring and kind. People’s privacy was respected an upheld, people were able to have time to themselves in their private rooms. Staff encouraged people’s independence and respected people’s choices. Staff understood people’s individual communication needs and relationships with relatives were maintained.

People were supported with interests and hobbies that were important to them. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Staff knew people well, which meant people were supported in line with their preferences. People understood how to complain if they needed to because complaints procedures were in a format that people understood. Complaint that had been received had been acted on.

Effective systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service people received. People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and how improvements could be made. The residential manager was approachable to both people and staff and there was a friendly and open culture at the service.

During our announced inspection on the 30 December 2013 we spoke to the registered manager, the residential manager, one member of staff, one of the four people who lived at the house and one of their relatives.

We were told by the registered manager that all staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its application.

A relative told us; “Her happiness is the most important thing, we really trust the staff, she would tell us if she wasn’t happy.”

We asked one person’s relative about food at the house, they told us that their relative was always happy with the food and how they had been impressed by the way the staff had involved people in cultivating plants in the garden.

The staff we spoke to told us that there was effective team work in place. We were told that the management were very supportive and staff were able to contribute to the effective running of the home.

We spoke to staff who confirmed that they knew what to do if a person made a complaint.

During our visit we met all the residents of the home. We saw that everyone was going about their days, carrying out their own individual activities. One person was preparing an evening meal with support of a staff member whilst another was preparing to go to work.

One resident showed us the back garden and told us that he enjoyed barbeques in the summer. He also showed us around his bedroom which was nicely personalised. He had his own key for his bedroom and told us he liked to keep it locked.

It was clear that residents and staff got along very well together and we saw that they enjoyed very pleasant and jovial interaction. Residents appeared very relaxed and happy with their support workers.

During this inspection we looked at standards relating to how the care and welfare of people who lived at the home was promoted and how they were protected form harm. We also assessed standards relating to staff training and how the provider monitored the quality of care and support provided. We found that the service was compliant in all the areas we assessed.

During our inspection we spoke with people who use the service and a relative. The relative told us they were satisfied that staff treated people with respect and maintained they dignity. They also told us that their family member would tell them if staff did not treat them with respect. We were told by the relative they were involved in reviews of the care offered and that their views were taken into account.

The relative told us that ‘nowhere else could meet their family members needs’. The relative also told us their family member was receiving appropriate support with their health and social care needs.

The relative we spoke with told us they felt the people who live in the home are kept safe and protected from harm. They told us staff would take action to ensure their family member was not put in a situation where they were at risk.

We saw that people who use the service were relaxed in the company of staff. We also saw they received care and support from staff who were aware of peoples care and treatment needs.

People told us they liked living in the home and one person told us that Station Road was ‘their home’.

We spoke with a relative who told us staff asked for their views about the service offered to their family member. They said they attended reviews and spoke with staff on a regular basis. They told us they knew who to speak with if they had any concerns or worries. The relative also told us they would take action if they felt their family member was not receiving appropriate care and treatment.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on the 6 and 12 November 2014.

The last inspection took place on the 30 December 2013 when it was found to be meeting all the regulatory requirements looked at and which applied to this kind of home.

Station Road, Holmes Chapel is required to have 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.

The day to day management of the home was carried out by a home manager.

Station Road, Holmes Chapel is a small care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation to up to four people. The home is situated in a residential area close to shops, public transport and other local amenities.  The home was purpose built and only opened in 2009.

All the people we spoke to told us that they liked living in the home.  We did not receive any specific comment regarding their safety but we did observe relaxed and friendly relationships between the people living in Station Road and the staff members working there. 

The service had a range of policies and procedures which helped staff refer to good practice and included guidance on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).   This meant that the staff members were aware of people's rights to make their own decisions. They were also aware of the need to protect people's rights when they had difficulty in making decisions for themselves.   

All of the staff members that we spoke with said that they felt that their training needs were more than met by the management.  The training manager told us that additional training would be provided if it was necessary.  This meant that the staff were well trained and were competent to do their jobs properly.  

The relationships we saw were warm, respectful, dignified and with plenty of smiles.  Everyone in the service looked relaxed and comfortable with the staff.

The common care files were reviewed regularly so staff knew what changes, if any, had been made.  The files each had a ‘one page profile’ which explained what was important to the individual and how best to support them. This helped to ensure that people’s needs continued to be met.

Staff members we spoke with were positive about how the home was being managed.  Throughout the inspection we observed them interacting with each other in a professional manner.  All of the staff members we spoke with were positive about the service and the quality of the care being provided.