Archived: Harborough Road

The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to four people living with learning disabilities. Accommodation is provided in detached house in a residential area of Rushden in Northamptonshire. At the time of our inspection three people living in the service.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in October 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service had a registered manager. 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. We were notified before the inspection that the registered manager was absent and that the service was being run by an area manager until 9 October 2017 when the registered manager returned.

People continued to be safe. People were protected against the risk of abuse. People felt safe in the service. Staff recognised the signs of abuse or neglect and what to look out for.

Staff followed appropriate guidance to minimise identified risks to people's health, safety and welfare. There were enough staff to keep people safe. The provider had appropriate arrangements in place to check the suitability and fitness of new staff to work at the service.

Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

Staff received regular training and supervision to help them to meet people's needs effectively.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported to have a healthy balanced diet and were supported to access health services when they needed them.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people's privacy was maintained.

Each person had an up to date, personalised support plan. These plans were detailed and included information that staff needed in order to know how to support people. The plans included sections in an easy to read format that people could refer to.

Staff encouraged people to actively participate in activities, pursue their interests and to maintain relationships with people that mattered to them.

Staff ensured the complaints procedure was made available to people to enable them to make a complaint if they needed to. Regular checks and reviews of the service continued to be made to ensure people experienced good quality safe care and support.

People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about how the service could be improved. This was used to make changes and improvements that people wanted.

The service had continued to provide good care and support during the period the registered was absent because effective interim management arrangements were in place and because staff were motivated and knowledgeable about people’s needs.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People were encouraged to eat a healthy diet. One person said, 'I like healthy eating ' my favourite food is baked potatoes.' Pictures of healthy food items were displayed in the kitchen to help people identify what was good for them.

People had been involved in personalising and decorating their bedrooms. One person said, 'I chose purple for my bedroom because it's my favourite colour.' Framed photos of the people who used the service on holidays and days out were on display and people enjoyed showing these to us.

People got on well with the staff. One person told us, 'I like all the staff.' We observed staff providing both one to one and group care. Staff worked with people in a warm and supportive way and were patient and kind.

We found that people who used the service, relatives and advocates understood the care and treatment choices available and were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement. When a person wanted to attend a day centre, go swimming or go on a day out the staff helped them to achieve this. We found that staff treated the people with dignity and respect. We found that the care people received was in line with the individual care plans, staff were aware of how to keep people who used the service safe and that staff had gone through strict employment checks prior to working at the location