About the service: Wortley Villa is a residential care home. It provides accommodation and personal care for up to five adults with autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection there were four people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by a small but consistent team of long-term staff who were kind and caring. Because people had lived at the service for many years and staff had worked there for a long time, staff had good relationships with people and knew them well. People told us they liked living at the service and wouldn’t change anything about it.

Staff knowledge in relation to people’s condition, their needs, and how to support them was thorough.

Care plans were person centred and included people’s personal goals for the year. There was a focus on providing people with a clear timetable and consistent support. This resulted in people being relaxed and being able to enjoy doing things they wanted to do.

There was an open culture where staff and people could raise concerns or issues. People told us they felt safe at the service and felt happy to speak up.

Rating at last inspection: Good (July 2016).

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

Follow up: We will continue our on-going monitoring of the service and all information we receive. We will use this information to determine when we next inspect the service.

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

This was an announced inspection which was completed on 6 and 13 July 2016. The reason the inspection was announced was to ensure the people living in the home were available for us to speak with and to provide them with assurances about our visit. This was because some people with Asperger’s syndromes become anxious when in the company of unfamiliar people. We gave 24 hours notice of this visit.

Wortley Villa provides accommodation and personal care for 5 people. There were five men living at the home when we inspected. The registered manager told us people had a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome in the completed provider information return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they planned to make.

Wortley Villa is situated in the village of Nailsworth close to local shops and amenities. People were they had been assessed as being safe to do so accessed the village independently. The home is situated over three floors which are accessible by stairs. Bedrooms were personalised to reflect the taste and personality of the occupant. On the ground floor there was a lounge/dining room and kitchen which was shared by the five people living in 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager had responsibility for three other homes owned by Gloucestershire Group Homes Ltd.

We found at the last inspection in May 2015 there were two breaches of regulation. This was because staff had not received any statutory training for a number of years and there were no daily records of the care and support that people had received. The provider sent us an action plan. We looked at these areas and the provider had taken appropriate action.

People were receiving care that was responsive and effective. Care plans were in place that described how the person would like to be supported. This included how the person’s Asperger’s syndrome impacted on their day to day live. The care plans were tailored to the person and provided staff with information to support the person effectively. Some individual goals that people were working towards needed more information which would assist in staff providing a more consistent approach. People had been consulted about their care needs and their views sought about the service.

People were supported to make decisions and take proportionate risks. Systems were in place to ensure that complaints and any concerns in respect of abuse were responded to. Systems were in place to ensure people were safe including risk management, checks on the environment and safe recruitment processes. People received their medicines safely.

People were supported to access the community either with staff support or independently. There was usually one member of staff working in Wortley Villa. There were day care staff who complimented the residential staff, supporting people to take part in activities of their choice. There was a day centre that people could access if they wanted during the day and two evenings a week.

Other health and social care professionals were involved in the care of the people living at Wortley Villa.

The staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and caring in their approach. Staff commented positively about the management support. Improvements had been made to ensure all staff had received appropriate training specific to their role. This was on going with a training plan in place. Staff were receiving regular one to one meetings with their line manager. However, there were no records maintained to enable senior management to monitor on going p

There were five people living at the home when we visited. We met and spoke with three of the people during the day.

There was a relaxed atmosphere in the home and the staff we spoke with had a comprehensive knowledge of people they supported. This came from the training they had completed and working at the home for many years.

The records we looked at identified peoples needs and there was evidence of those needs being met.

It was difficult for us to gather comments from people about their care. The home provided care for people with Autism and Aspergers which meant that their social and communication abilities were affected. Our observations during the visit showed that staff treated people with dignity and respect.

During our visit to the home we observed interactions between the people that used the service and the staff to help us understand their experiences. This helped us to see that they were being involved in their care. It also helped us to see that they were being respected and that relationships had been established. Staffs communication with people was positive and clearly showed that they knew people and their needs well.

The visitor we spoke with told us that they were extremely satisfied with the care their relative received; they told us that staff were “absolutely excellent! totally exceptional !, we as a family could not wish for better care and support for our relative”.

We spoke with three members of staff during our visit. This included the registered manager and two support staff. Staff were motivated and professional in their approach. They spoke about the people they supported in a caring manner. From discussions with staff it was clear that they knew the people they supported well and positive relationships had been established.

People were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed. Procedures were in place and some staff had received training in this area. We saw that staff had undertaken both core and specialist training.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

People told us staff were very helpful. They said they liked going out to the neighbouring

town and to local pubs and cafes. They told us staff supported them to visit their friends

and relatives.

We observed staff treating people with sensitivity and respect. Staff listened and

responded to people supporting them to make decisions and choices about their lifestyles.

One person showed us their room. They were happy living in the home and with the support they received from staff.

The home had a comfortable environment and we saw throughout, that people had places to keep personal items in the communal area's, for example, a guitar, keyboard and other hobby items. People enjoyed having their own rooms and space and had personalised with momento's and pictures.

Wortley Villa provides accommodation and personal care for 5 people. There were five men living at the home when we inspected. The service supports people with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. This was an unannounced inspection, which meant the staff and provider did not know we would be visiting.

Wortley Villa is situated in the village of Nailsworth close to local shops and amenities. Some people accessed the village independently. The home is situated over three floors which are accessible by stairs. Three of the five bedrooms had an ensuite and two people shared a communal bathroom. Bedrooms were personalised to reflect the taste and personality of the occupant. On the ground floor there was a lounge/dining room and kitchen which was shared by the five people living in the home. Two bedrooms were situated on the ground floor.

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.

People were involved in making decisions about their care. People had a care plan that described how they wanted to be supported. One of the care plans we viewed had not been updated to reflect a change in how they were supported with their health care needs. There were no daily records maintained about how people had been supported, what activities they had taken part in or their general well-being. There was a risk that important information or changes would not be identified promptly to ensure the care was effective or responsive. This was a breach of regulation and we have asked the provider to take action.

The staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and caring in their approach. Staff commented positively about the management support. Whilst staff had received initial training when they first started working for the organisation some training required updating such as fire, first aid, medicine administration and competence and health and safety. This was a breach of regulation and we have asked the provider to take action.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because there were clear procedures in place to recognise and respond to abuse and staff had been trained in how to follow the procedures. Systems were in place to ensure people were safe including risk management, checks on the environment and safe recruitment processes. People received their medicines safely.

There was a day centre that people could access if they wanted during the day and two evenings a week. People were supported to access the community either with staff support or independently. There was usually one member of staff working in Wortley Villa. There were day care staff who complimented the residential staff, supporting people to take part in activities of their choice. Other health and social care professionals were involved in the care of the people living at Wortley Villa.

Systems were in place for monitoring the quality of the service. This included seeking the views of people and their relatives through annual surveys.

There were two breaches of regulation in respect of record keeping and staff training. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.