About the service: The Beach House provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreement. CQC does not regulate premises for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s care and support. The outcomes for people using this service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. These included promotion of choice and control, inclusion and independence. People’s support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ There were safeguarding procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures.

¿ Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs.

¿ Risks to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure their needs were met.

¿ People received their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals.

¿ There were procedures in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infections.

¿ People’s care and support needs were assessed before they started using the service.

¿ Staff had received training and support relevant to people’s needs.

¿ People cooked for themselves and they were supported to maintain a balanced diet.

¿ 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 support this practice.

¿ People had access to health care professionals when they needed them

¿ Staff treated people in a caring and respectful manner.

¿ People had been consulted about their care and support needs.

¿ People were supported to participate in activities that met their needs.

¿ No one using the service required support with end of life care, however there were procedures in place to make sure people had access to this type of care if it was required.

¿ The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people told us they knew how to make a complaint.

¿ The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service.

¿ Staff enjoyed working at the service and said they felt supported by the registered manager.

¿ The provider had implemented a system for monitoring the quality of the service. We were not able to assess the impact of the system as it had not been fully embedded into the service. We will look at this again at our next inspection of the service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report was published on 12 May 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the last inspection rating.

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

The inspection took place on 11 April 2016. The Beach House UK limited is a domiciliary care agency which offers personal care, companionship and domestic help to young adults with mental health and learning disability care needs, in a supported living environment. There are currently two people using the service.

The service has 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.

People were safeguarded from the potential of harm and their freedoms protected. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. Staff had up to date information about people’s needs which meant they were effective in delivering appropriate care. Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare.

Staff had received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care. The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. Where appropriate, support and guidance were sought from health care professionals, including GPs, and specialists. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration needs. Staff supported people with their medication as required.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

People were supported with activities which interested them. People knew how to make a complaint and processes were in place to deal with them..

The manager had a number of ways of gathering people’s views including talking with people, staff, and relatives. They carried out quality monitoring audits to help ensure the service was running effectively and to make improvements.

We spoke with the person who uses the service and with their relative. The feedback we received was positive about the service and included comments such as, “I like it here and I am really happy.” “I am very happy, as long as [person’s name] is happy, then I am happy, and they are. The staff are very good at communicating and they always keep me informed.” “I have seen improvements in [person’s name] quality of life and they absolutely adore their key worker.”

The person’s needs had been fully assessed and their care plan and risk assessments had been regularly reviewed and updated to reflect their changing needs. The person told us they felt safe and staff spoken with showed a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. There was enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet the person’s needs. Regular checks on the quality of the service had been carried out. The person received safe, effective and compassionate care from a well led service that responds quickly to their changing needs.