The Broad Group - 85 Bath Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The Broad Group - 85 Bath Road provides accommodation and care for up to five people, across three floors. There were three people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

At the last inspection in March 2016 the services was rated 'Good'. At this inspection we found the service remained 'Good'. 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.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 continued to enjoy living at the home and to have their safety needs met by staff who knew their individual safety risks well. Staff understood when people’s safety needs changed and responded to these, so people could maintain as much independence as safely possible. Checks were made on the suitability of staff before they came to work at the home, to promote people’s safety.

There were enough staff to care for people. More staff were being recruited to meet the needs of people coming to live at the home. Action was taken to manage people’s medicines safely and to reduce the chance of infections occurring. Systems were in place to monitor and learn from any accidents and untoward incidents, if these occurred.

People and their relatives were encouraged to meet staff and visit the home so they could make informed decisions about moving in. Staff considered the advice of other health and social care professionals when assessing if they could meet people’s care and well-being needs.

We saw people were confident to ask for the help they wanted. People’s relatives were complimentary about how staff used their skills and knowledge to care for their family members. The training staff had been supported to do matched the needs of the people living at the home. We saw staff used these skills so people’s individual needs were met, and so people were empowered to make their own decisions where possible.

Some people liked to make their own drinks and to decide what they would like to eat with support from staff. Staff understood the links between people’s health and nutrition. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink so they would remain well. People’s relatives told us they were confident staff would assist their family members to enjoy the best health possible. People’s relatives advised us they were consulted about important health decisions for their family members.

People are 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.

The compassionate approach of staff was highlighted by people’s relatives, and we saw people enjoyed spending time with the staff who cared for them. Staff spoke warmly about the people they supported and wanted them to be happy. People were encouraged to make their own day to day decisions about the care they wanted. Staff made this as easy as possible for people, by using their preferred methods of communication. Staff promoted people’s right to dignity, independence and privacy in the way they cared for them.

Care was planned to reflect people’s individual pref

The inspection took place on 29 March 2016 and was unannounced. The Broad Group offers accommodation for up to five younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders and sensory impairment care needs. There were three people living at the home at the time of our inspection. People had their own rooms and the use of a number of comfortable communal areas, including a kitchen and dining area, a lounge, and garden areas.

We had the opportunity to meet with three people who lived at the home on the day of the inspection. People were not able to communicate with us directly, so we contacted their relatives after the inspections to find out what they thought about the care their family members received.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our inspection. 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 and staff team supported care staff to provide compassionate care which took people’s preferences and interests into account. Risks to people’s safety were recognised and staff took action so people were able to do things they enjoyed in ways which promoted their safety as their needs changed. There were enough staff available to support people so their care needs would be met in the ways people wanted. Staff understood what actions to take if they had any concerns for people’s safety or well-being. Staff knew how to obtain advice from the registered manager, provider or external organisations if required so people’s safety and care needs would be met. People were supported to take their medicines so they would remain well.

Staff had the knowledge and skills required to support people so they would enjoy a good quality of life. Staff worked with other organisations and relatives so people’s right to make decisions and their freedom was protected. People were supported by staff to enjoy a range of food and drinks so they would remain well. Staff arranged access to health services so people would benefit from specialist advice to stay healthy.

People were treated as family members by staff, were given encouragement and reassurance when they wanted this. We saw caring relationships had been built with the staff. Staff supported people so they were able to make choices about what daily care they wanted. People’s need for privacy and independence was taken into account by staff.

People benefited from living in a home where staff understood and responded to their individual preferences and care and support needs. Staff recognised when people’s needs changed and took action so people would be able to continue to do things they enjoyed in best way for them. Relatives had not needed to make any complaints, but knew how to raise any complaints or concerns they had and were confident staff would take action if this happened.

There was clear and open communication between the registered manager, relatives and staff, and suggestions for improving people’s individual care were listened to. Staff understood what was expected of them and were supported through training and discussions with their managers. Checks were undertaken on the quality of the care by the registered manager and actions were taken where developments had been highlighted. The provider had made arrangements to make sure there was a focus on continuous development of the home through planned recruitment of an additional member of staff to overview the quality of their operations.

When we visited the service we met some of the people who live at 85 Bath Road and also spoke with staff on duty. We spent some time observing staff and their approach and found them to be kind and caring towards the people who live there.

Many of the people who live at 85 Bath Road were not able to tell us much about their experience at the home due to their condition. We saw that staff looked after people well. Staff said they were trained to help them understand how to meet people’s needs and give people the support they wanted.

We tracked the care of two people and looked at how their care was provided and managed. Staff demonstrated that they had sufficient knowledge and skills to provide the care and support for people.

We saw that people had active lives. Information was displayed around the home about planned activities and we saw some photograph collages of trips and outings that had taken place.

We carried out this inspection over a period of two days. This was because we returned to spend time with people who were out on the first day of our inspection.

Three people lived at the home when we carried out this inspection.

We spoke with the registered manager and two members of staff. We spent time with people who used the service. We were unable to speak in detail with people who used the service due to their sensory impairments or complex needs.

People indicated by their body language that they were happy with the service provided and the staff who worked at the home. One person told us that the home was: “Very good”. We spoke with relatives of three people who used the service. Comments from relatives included: “More than happy with the care”, “It’s a homely home” and: “Can’t sing their praises enough.”

We observed how staff interacted with people. We saw that staff spoke with people in a respectful manner. We observed that people looked comfortable with the care provided by the staff on duty.

We looked at the care records for two people and found that people’s needs had been assessed. The records showed that care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with people’s individual need. Staff told us that they were aware of each person’s needs and how to give care and support to meet those needs.

We found that prescribed medicines were given to people appropriately to maintain their wellbeing.

The registered manager was aware of shortfalls in staff training. We were told of plans to ensure that staff received the training updates needed to meet people’s needs.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service that people received. The development of quality assurance systems would ensure that people who used the service were not placed at risk of receiving inappropriate care.