About the service:

• The service is a supported living service which supports up to nine people. Eight people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

• The service supports people with learning disabilities and/ or autism with some mental health needs.

• 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. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People received a good standard of care in all areas.

• The service continued to meet the characteristics for a rating of “good” in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection remained “good”.

• More information is in our full report.

Rating at last inspection:

• At our last inspection, the service was rated “good”. Our last report was published on 16 July 2016

Why we inspected:

• All services rated “good” are re-inspected within two and a half years of our prior inspection. This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

• We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

Warminster Road is a supported living service that can accommodate up to nine people. Supported living services are where people live in their own home and receive care and support in order to promote their independence. This service supports people with learning disabilities, each person has their own flat with 24 hour support available.

The inspection took place on 15 June 2016 and was unannounced. At the last inspection in July 2014 the service was meeting all the regulations inspected.

The service had a registered manager in charge and she was present for the 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 were positive about the service experienced, and they liked living independently in their own flats. They said they received support that enabled them become more independent and this was flexibly delivered.

People were pleased with the care and support they received from regular staff. Staff were familiar and aware of people’s needs and the action they should take to meet those needs. There was a training and development programme for staff that helped them develop the skills and knowledge needed for their role, staff said they were effectively supported in their role, they had their practice appraised. The service provided a comprehensive induction based on the Care Certificate and a six month probation period for new staff.

Staff promoted the privacy and dignity of people, they received training on the principles of privacy and dignity, and person centred care, and had their practice observed and appraised. Staff told us the training had emphasised the importance of understanding people’s backgrounds, preferences and culture, how to communicate with people. Care records included this type of information; staff found this information made a positive difference as it helped them support people appropriately.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Support workers respected people's decisions and gained people's consent before they provided personal care.

The service was responsive to individual needs, and changes to individual needs were recognised, care and support arrangements were tailored to respond to any changes that arose.

People’s views mattered and were central to how the service was developed and improved. The provider had effective ways of quality assurance, and for making sure they continued to get things right. The service benefited from strong management, staff felt supported and found the management approach was open and fair.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service. This inspection was unannounced.

Warminster Road is a supported living service that can accommodate up to nine people. Supported living services are where people live in their own accommodation and can receive care and/or support in order to promote their independence. This service provides support to people with learning disabilities, mental health needs and behaviours which may challenge the services they require. People who use this service had their own flat and received 24 hour support. As a supported living service the provider is not required to be registered with us for the accommodation because people were living in their own flats. They are however registered to deliver personal care to people.

At our previous inspection in April 2013, we found the provider was meeting the regulations we inspected.

There was no registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. However, a new manager had been appointed and was in the process of applying to register. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

People told us they felt safe using the service. Staff were trained in safeguarding adults and the service had policies and procedures in place to ensure that the service responded appropriately to allegations or suspicions of abuse. The service ensured that people’s human rights were respected and took action to assess and minimise risks to people. Staff had received training on behaviour that may challenge and the service consulted with other professionals about managing aspects of behaviour safely.

All of the people we spoke with said that staff were approachable, they could chat with the staff and that they were listened to. Throughout our inspection we observed that staff were caring and attentive to people. Staff showed dignity and respect and demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs.

There were enough qualified and skilled staff at the service. Staffing was managed flexibly to suit people's needs so that people received their care when they needed and wanted it. Staff had access to information, support and training that they needed to do their jobs well. The provider’s training programme was designed to meet the needs of people using the service so that staff had the specialist knowledge they required to care for people effectively. People were provided with a range of activities in and outside the service which met their individual needs and interests. The service supported people to be as independent as possible. People were encouraged to build and develop their independent living skills both in the service and in the community.

Care plans contained information about the health and social care support people needed and records showed they were supported to access other professionals when required.

People were involved in making decisions about their care. They agreed to the level of support they needed and how they wished to be supported. Where people's needs changed, the provider responded and reviewed the care provided.

People using the service and staff told us they found the manager to be approachable and accessible. We observed an open and inclusive atmosphere in the service and the manager led by example.

Staff were happy working for the service and motivated to provide person centred care.

The provider had a number of audits and quality assurance programmes in place. These included action plans so the provider could monitor whether necessary changes were made and ensure high standards were being maintained.

The service had effective procedures for reporting and investigating incidents and accidents. There were systems to learn from incidents and adverse events and protect people from the risks of similar events happening again.

The reader should note that the term ‘tenant’ has also been used in this report and refers to people using the service.

We met with five of the eight people using the service during the course of our visit. We also spoke with five members of staff, the registered manager and deputy.

All the people we spoke with were positive about the service. They told us they liked their living accommodation and were involved in their care and support. Comments included, “they look after me well”, “it’s great here” and “I can be independent.”

People told us staff supported them with cooking, laundry, managing money and their preferred activities.

People using the service had personalised support plans, which were current and outlined their agreed care arrangements. This meant staff had the information they needed to meet people’s individual needs.

Staff supported people in raising their awareness about abuse and keeping safe in the home and in the local community. People told us they would talk to staff if they had any worries or concerns. People felt that staff listened to them and were very helpful.

Staff we spoke to felt well supported by the manager and said there was good teamwork.