Stonham Albion House provides domiciliary care services to four customers with learning disabilities who live in individual flats within the town of Driffield. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion.

At our last inspection we rated the service 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.

Systems and processes were in place to support people to stay safe. Staff understood actions to take to reduce risks and promote positive risk taking for customers to live independently. Customers and staff were confident if they had any concerns for customer’s safety, the registered manager would support them fully. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report abuse.

Customers 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. Detailed care plans and risk assessments were completed which explained to staff how customers wished to receive their care and support. Staff were trained and understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

Staff were kind and caring. The focus of the service was on the customers. Staff’s understanding of what was important to the customers was evident throughout the inspection and customers were supported to live independently and fully supported with decision making. Staff showed real empathy for the people they cared for.

Information was available to staff to support customer’s health care needs. Care records guided staff. Advice and guidance was obtained from health care professionals to fully achieve person- centred support. Activities that were meaningful to the customers were planned and staff encouraged customer feedback. A complaints procedure was in place and customers knew who to speak to if they had any concerns.

The registered manager and staff had a clear vision of empowering customers with learning disabilities. Customers told us they liked living at Stonham Albion House and said that moving there, was the best thing that had happened to them. Staff enjoyed working there and said they received good support from the registered manager and the client service manager.

The inspection of Stonham Albion House took place on 16 February 2016 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since it became registered in July 2015 under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

This new service provides domiciliary care services to people with learning difficulties that live in four flats on Albion Street in Driffield. The service intends to expand to provide support to people within the local area. It provides 24 hour cover, seven days a week. It enables people to lead lives of their choosing and supports them with all aspects of living independently. There is limited car parking on street outside the location.

The service had links with Home Group Limited Housing branch, which also provided the accommodation and rented tenancies for people. However, this was a totally separate provision to the domiciliary care service. This meant that anyone living under a tenancy with Home Group Limited Housing were free to seek alternative domiciliary care services and were not tied to Home Group Limited.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and on the day of the inspection there was a manager that had been registered and in post since registration of the service in July 2015. 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.

We found that people were protected from the risk of harm because the registered provider had systems in place to detect, monitor and report potential or actual safeguarding concerns. Staff were appropriately trained in safeguarding adults from abuse and understood their responsibilities in respect of managing potential and actual safeguarding concerns. Risks were managed and reduced on an individual basis for each person that used the service so that people avoided injury or harm wherever possible.

The premises where the domiciliary care service operated from were safely maintained and there was evidence in the form of maintenance certificates, contracts and records to show this. People’s individual flats at Stonham Albion House were also risk assessed to ensure people and staff were safe. Maintenance of the whole building: office area, communal area and flats, was carried out by Home Group Limited Housing. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet people’s need and we saw that rosters accurately cross referenced with the people that were on duty. We saw that recruitment policies, procedures and practices were carefully followed to ensure staff were ‘fit’ to care for and support vulnerable people. We found that supporting people with their medication was safely carried out by staff.

People were supported by qualified and competent staff that were regularly supervised and received appraisal regarding their personal performance. Communication was effective, people’s mental capacity was appropriately assessed if necessary and their rights were protected.

People received support to have adequate nutrition and hydration to maintain their levels of health and wellbeing. The premises were suitable for supporting people that had mild learning disability and required support with their social interactions.

We found that people received the support they required from kind staff who knew about people’s needs and preferences. People were supplied with the information they needed at the right time, were involved in all aspects of their support plans and were always asked for their consent before staff undertook support tasks.

People’s wellbeing, privacy, dignity and independence were monitored and respected and staff worked to maintain these wherever possible. This ensured people were respected, tha