The inspection took place on 28 July 2015 and was unannounced.
The service is a small residential home for people on the autistic spectrum, with learning and physical disabilities and sensory impairment. The service is registered to support seven people and at the time of our inspection there were six people living there.
The service is a large property on a residential street. When it opened three years ago it was designed and renovated to meet people’s needs. It has seven bedrooms each with an en-suite bathroom. Two bedrooms are downstairs and have wet floor shower rooms so they are accessible for wheelchair users. There are several communal areas and the kitchen and dining room is open plan, with a small lounge leading off to the side. There is a large secure garden to the rear.
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.
People, and their relatives, told us the service was safe. Staff knew how to safeguard people from avoidable harm, and the service had an up to date safeguarding policy which provided staff with clear guidance.
People had individual risk assessments and risk management plans in place which ensured staff followed the least restrictive principles. This meant risk was safely managed whilst protecting people’s rights and freedoms. Detailed protocols and risk assessments were in place for the use of restraint.
Medicines were safely managed and administered. The service had individual protocols in place for the administration of PRN (as required) medication and staff had received training for specialist rescue medicines for people living with epilepsy.
Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to support people to lead full lives. Staff were supported to have the skills and knowledge they needed to support people, they had access to regular supervision and ongoing training. This meant staff continued to develop their skills.
The service was following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the registered manager had a good understanding of the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards (DoLS).
People enjoyed a healthy and balanced diet and were involved in making drinks and meal preparation.
We received positive feedback from health care professionals who told us the service worked well with them and provided a good standard of care to people.
People who used the service and support workers had a good rapport and support staff knew people well. All of the staff we spoke with told us they would be happy for their family member to live at the service.
We saw evidence of compassionate end of life care, as well as support for people who had lost their friend.
People had detailed support plans which contained personal information about people’s likes and dislikes and how best to support them. The service had detailed behaviour management plans. All of the support plans and risk assessments had been developed in conjunction with the person, their families, health and social care professionals and the support staff who knew them well. People had a key worker who they met with every month to review their support.
The service was keen to seek feedback from people who lived there, their families and health and social care professionals. Regular surveys were sent to people, and we saw evidence of action taken as a result of the feedback.
People were supported to be part of their local community and took part in a range of activities. Relationships with family and friends were valued and support was provided to maintain theses. People’s religious needs were met.
The service was well led with the registered manager being clear about their role. They had systems in place to monitor the effectiveness and the quality of the service they provided to people.
Staff morale was high. They spoke with passion about the support they gave to people. Staff told us they felt well supported by the registered and deputy manager, and that they had a culture of openness.
The registered manager demonstrated a commitment to ongoing service development; the service had recently started to work towards accreditation via the national autistic society.