About the service:

Waverley is situated in the seaside resort of Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire. It can accommodate up to 14 people who experience learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder. It can also accommodate older people. On the day of the inspection 14 people were living in the home.

Waverley worked within the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensured that people could live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.

People’s experience of using this service:

• Improvements were needed to the way in which some risks to people’s health, safety and welfare were assessed and recorded.

• Improvements were needed to the way in which governance systems were recorded.

• People enjoyed living at Waverley and they were supported by staff who knew them well.

• People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was maintained.

• People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and were encouraged to express their views and opinions about the care they received.

• People’s healthcare needs were met and they were supported to have a varied and balanced diet.

• Staff were trained and supported to deliver the care people wanted and needed.

• Staff understood how to keep people safe from harm or abuse and how report any concerns they may have for people’s safety.

• The manager was well respected by people who lived at Waverley and the staff team.

• The manager promoted an open and inclusive culture and worked in partnership with external agencies to ensure people received the care and support they needed.

Rating at last inspection:

Waverley was last inspected on 20 & 21 April 2016 (report published 17 June 2016) and was rated as good overall.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about Waverley until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

We inspected Waverley on 20 April 2016. This was an unannounced inspection. The service provides care and support for up to 14 people. When we undertook our inspection there were 13 people living at the home.

People living at the home were of mixed ages. Some people required more assistance either because of physical illnesses or because they were experiencing difficulties coping with everyday tasks.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves. At the time of our inspection there was no one subject to such an authorisation.

We found that there were sufficient staff to meet the needs of people using the service. The provider had taken into consideration the complex needs of each person to ensure their needs could be met through a 24 hour period.

We found that people’s health care needs were assessed, and care planned and delivered in a consistent way through the use of a care plan. People were involved in the planning of their care and had agreed to the care provided. The information and guidance provided to staff in the care plans was clear. Risks associated with people’s care needs were assessed and plans put in place to minimise risk in order to keep people safe.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. The staff in the home took time to speak with the people they were supporting. We saw many positive interactions and people enjoyed talking to the staff in the home. The staff on duty knew the people they were supporting and the choices they had made about their care and their lives. People were supported to maintain their independence and control over their lives.

Staff had taken care in finding out what people wanted from their lives and had supported them in their choices. They had used family and friends as guides to obtain information and accessed a number of different resources within the community.

People had a choice of meals, snacks and drinks. And meals could be taken in a dining room, sitting rooms or people’s own bedrooms. Staff encouraged people to eat their meals and gave assistance to those that required it. Some people helped with the preparation of meals and setting tables for meals.

The provider used safe systems when new staff were recruited. All new staff completed training before working in the home. The staff were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from harm or abuse. They knew the action to take if they were concerned about the welfare of an individual.

People had been consulted about the development of the home and quality checks had been completed to ensure services met people’s requirements. Since our last inspection the provider had updated and refurbished many parts of the home.

When we visited, 12 people were living in the home. We spoke with nine people who lived there as well as a member of staff and the manager. We looked at records and observed how staff supported the people living in the home.

People told us they were always asked for their verbal permission/consent by staff before they undertook any care needs and their responses were respected. The home followed legal requirements if people lacked the capacity to make informed choices.

The people we spoke with told us they were happy living in the home, some of whom had lived in the home for many years One person told us, ” It’s much better than the other place I was in.” People told us they received the care and support they needed from kind and caring staff.

Medicines were stored safely and administered appropriately. People told us they received their medicines on time.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs.

As part of our inspection we spoke with a number of people who use the service. They spoke positively about the care and support they received. They told us they liked living in the home and confirmed that they were supported to make choices and decisions about the care they received. We received comments such as,"I like going to craft workshops in the next town", "Staff help me to use the phone" and "I knew about this place and it was my choice to come here."

People living in the home confirmed they felt safe and said they liked the staff. One person told us: "I feel safe living here" and another told us "I can talk to my keyworker."