Stepping out provides short to medium term residential accommodation for up to seven adults who have experienced mental health problems. At the time of this inspection there were five people living in the home.

There was a new manager in post at the time of this inspection and they had submitted an application to become registered for this location with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

There were enough staff working in the home to help ensure people's safety and staff worked well together to ensure people's needs were consistently met appropriately. Staff were recruited in a way that ensured proper checks were carried out, which helped ensure only staff who were suitable to work in care services were employed. Staff knew how to recognise different kinds of possible abuse and understood the importance of reporting any concerns or suspicions that people were at risk of harm appropriately. The manager also understood their role in addressing any issues.

Risks to people's safety were identified, recorded and reviewed on a regular basis. There was also written guidance for staff to know how to support people to manage these risks. Staff worked closely with healthcare professionals to promote people's welfare and safety. Staff also took prompt action to seek professional advice, and acted upon it, where there were any concerns about people's mental or physical health and wellbeing.

People's medicines were stored and administered safely and as the prescriber intended and staff were trained and competent to support people in this area.

People enjoyed their meals and were provided with sufficient quantities of food and drink. Some people catered for themselves but everyone was able to choose what they had. If people were identified as possibly being at risk of not eating or drinking enough, staff followed guidance to help promote people's welfare and, where needed, input was sought from relevant healthcare professionals.

Staff were trained well and were competent in meeting people's needs. Staff understood people's backgrounds and preferences and supported people effectively. New staff were required to complete a probationary period and induction and all staff received supervisions and appraisals of their work.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and to report on what we find. The manager and staff understood the requirements of the MCA, although everybody living in Stepping Out was deemed to have capacity and nobody was subject to DoLS. 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 also supported this practice.

Staff understood the importance of supporting people to make their own choices regarding their care and support. Staff consistently obtained people’s consent before providing support and, if people lacked capacity to make some decisions, staff understood how to act in people’s best interests to protect their human rights.

Staff had developed respectful, trusting and caring relationships with the people they supported and consistently promoted people’s dignity and privacy. People were able to choose what they wanted to do and when. People were also supported to develop and maintain relationships with their friends and families. People engaged in a number of activities both in and outside of the home and were supported to maintain and enhance their independence as much as possible.

The service was well run and communication between the management

Say when the inspection took place and whether the inspection was announced or unannounced. Where relevant, describe any breaches of legal requirements at your last inspection, and if so whether improvements have been made to meet the relevant requirement(s).

Provide a brief overview of the service (e.g. Type of care provided, size, facilities, number of people using it, whether there is or should be a registered manager etc).

N.B. If there is or should be a registered manager include this statement to describe what a registered manager is:

‘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.’

Give a summary of your findings for the service, highlighting what the service does well and drawing attention to areas where improvements could be made. Where a breach of regulation has been identified, summarise, in plain English, how the provider was not meeting the requirements of the law and state ‘You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.’ Please note that the summary section will be used to populate the CQC website. Providers will be asked to share this section with the people who use their service and the staff that work at there.