Yews Hill/North Rise is a care home providing accommodation and support to people with a learning disability. Accommodation and support is provided in two houses next to each other. Yews Hill/North Rise is part of the Bridgewood Trust; a charity organisation which provides residential and day services to people with learning disabilities. At the time of inspection there was 14 people at the homes.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People received support which was individual to their needs, and risks were minimised wherever possible. Staff received training and support which helped them be effective in their roles. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible. This was evidenced in their care and support plans. The service provider’s policies and systems supported this practice. We observed a good atmosphere in the service, and saw people were free to decide how and where they spent their time. The registered manager and staff ensured the quality of the service was monitored, and improvements were made when required.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The inspection took place on 11 May 2015 and was unannounced.

Yews Hill/North Rise is a care home providing accommodation and support to people with a learning disability. The home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 17 people. Accommodation and support is provided in two houses situated on one site, next to each other. There were nine people living at Yews Hill and five people living at North Rise on the day of our inspection. Yews Hill/North Rise is part of the Bridgewood Trust; a charitable organisation which provides residential and day services to people with learning disabilities

There was a registered manager in place who had been registered since June 2014. 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 who lived their told us they felt safe. Relatives we spoke with also told us their relative was safe at Yews Hill/North Rise. Staff had a good understanding about safeguarding adults from abuse and who to contact if they suspected any abuse.

Risks assessments were individual to people’s needs and minimised risk whilst promoting people’s independence.

Systems were in place to store and administer medicines safely.

Staff had received an induction, supervision, appraisal and role specific training. This ensured they had the knowledge skills to support the people who lived there.

We found a lack of capacity assessments in the care plans and a lack of recording of best interest’s decision making. This meant that for those people unable to give consent because they lacked capacity to do so, the registered person had not acted in accordance with the 2005 Act. This was a breach of regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We also found that although there were two authorisations for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), consideration had not been given to other people whose liberty might be deprived. This was a breach of regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

People were supported to eat a good balanced diet and people enjoyed the food served at Yews Hill/North Rise.

Staff were caring and supported people in a way that maintained their dignity and privacy. People were supported to be as independent as possible throughout their daily lives.

People and their relatives were involved in care planning and reviews. People’s needs were reviewed as soon as their situation and needs changed.

The culture of the organisation was open and transparent. The registered manager knew the people who lived their well and how to support the people who lived there and the staff who supported them.

The registered provider had an overview of the service and audited and monitored the service to ensure the needs of the people were met and the service provided was to a high standard.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

On the day of our inspection most people living at Yews Hill/North Rise had gone out for the day. Some people were out at day centres or activity groups and one person had gone out with their family. We observed positive interaction between care staff and the people who remained at Yews Hill; everyone from North Rise had gone out. It was evident from talking with staff that they knew people well and how they liked to be supported. We spoke with one person living at Yews Hill and they told us they liked it; they told us staff were nice.

We looked at two sets of care records and saw they provided sufficient information about the support people required. We saw they were person centred and included information about their likes and dislikes. We spoke with one member of staff who was not a regular care worker at Yews Hill/North Rise and they told us the care plans were informative and provided them with a 'good picture' of the person's needs.

Care at Yews Hill/North Rise is provided in two houses which are on the same land. We spent a significant amount of out time observing care and talking to people at number 75 Yews Hill.

People told us that they had been involved in making decisions about how they wanted their care provided and that staff treated them with respect. People told us that staff always knocked before they entered their bedroom. People told us that the staff were nice and that they felt well looked after. One person said, “I like it here.”

People are encouraged to be independent as much as possible. One person told us that the organisation respects their religious beliefs and helps them attend church each week.

The staff we spoke with told us that they provided a high quality service and people were involved in making decisions about their care. They told us that people’s privacy and dignity was respected at all times. Staff also told us that they felt well supported by their manager and the organisation.