The inspection visit took place on 25 and 28 November 2016. The visit was unannounced.

Venetia House is a residential home which provides care to people with mental health needs. It is registered to provide care for up to 12 people. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people living at the home.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People using the service we spoke with said they thought the home was safe. Staff had been trained in safeguarding (protecting people from abuse) and understood their responsibilities in this area.

People's risk assessments had provided staff with information of how to support people safely.

People using the service told us they thought medicines were given safely and on time.

Staff had been subject to character checks to ensure they were appropriate to work with the people who used the service.

Staff had been trained to ensure they had skills and knowledge to meet people's needs, though training on some important issues had not yet been provided.

Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to allow, as much as possible, people to have an effective choice about how they lived their lives. However, this had not always been carried out.

People had plenty to eat and drink and everyone told us they liked the food provided.

People's health care needs had been protected by referral to health care professionals when necessary.

People told us they liked the staff and got on very well with them, and we saw many examples of staff working with people in a friendly, supportive and caring way.

People and their representatives were involved in making decisions about care, treatment and support.

Care plans were individual to the people using the service and usually covered their health and social care needs.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to ensure that people's needs were responded to in good time.

Activities were in place to provide stimulation for people and people took part in activities in their chosen community activities.

People told us they would tell staff if they had any concerns and were confident that proper action would be taken.

People and staff were satisfied with how the home was run by the registered manager and the management team.

Management carried out audits to check that the home was running properly to meet people's needs, though not all essential systems had been audited.

We spoke with four people who used the service who shared with us their views about Venetia House along with their thoughts as to the care and support they received. People’s comments included: “I can’t fault it; I won’t leave here until they carry me out.” “My keyworker reviews my care plan every month and every 2 – 3 months they sit down with me and we review it together, I know exactly what’s in my care plans and I’ve signed them.” “It’s okay here; I enjoy having a cup of tea and a cigarette.” “The staff are supportive and I have a keyworker, every now and then we change our keyworker which is good as it helps you get to know each other better. It’s important that you’re able to trust the staff here. Trust is very important to me.” People we spoke with told us about their forthcoming holiday to Blackpool, which everyone said they were looking forward to.

People were involved in the reviewing of their care plans which they signed. People we spoke with told us they were happy living at Venetia House and said they received the support they needed from the staff. People told us about their lives and told us how staff helped and supported them. We observed that people who used the service and staff had a positive professional relationship and that people throughout the day approached staff for support when they needed it.

People were supported by staff that knew them well and were employed in sufficient numbers and were supported to access community resources, in some instances people who used the service received additional funding so that they had one to one support with a member of staff. People who had one to one support told us they used this time to access services within the community.

We found records to be in good order, which included records regarding people who used the service, staffing and maintenance records.

We spoke with four people who use the services of Venetia House. They spoke to us about their experiences and views of the service. People’s comments were positive and included: “I like living here; they have literally saved my life. I’m able to be independent and at the same time staff are available to provide support when I need it.” And “I get to go out a lot; I do voluntary work at a garden centre and go out a lot including going to watch Leicester City football club matches.”

People we spoke with and records we read showed people were supported to take an active part in community events and activities, which included voluntary work and being, involved in art and performance projects. People also told us they had been on holiday either to Skegness or Ibiza. People told us they were supported to make decisions about their day to day lives. People spoke positively about living at Venetia House and told us that staff were supportive.

People told us they were involved in the development and reviewing of their care plans and that they attended resident meetings. One person told us: - “I find the resident meetings quite useful.” A second person when asked about their involvement in their care plan told us: - “Staff sit with me and we go through it regularly, I’m happy with what’s written about me.”