Allen and Whitworth UK Limited – 71 Allen Road, provides support for up to three people with Learning Disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were three people living at the home. At the last inspection in October 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

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 continued to receive care that was safe. We saw that staff had been appropriately recruited in to the service and security checks had taken place. There were enough staff to provide care and support to people to meet their needs. People were consistently protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision, training and on-going professional development that they required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition .

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 support this practice.

People told us their relationships with staff were positive and caring. We saw that staff treated people with respect, kindness and courtesy. People had detailed personalised plans of care in place to enable staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences.

People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and were confident that if they did, the management would respond to them appropriately. The provider had effective systems in place to manage any complaints that they may receive.

The service had a positive ethos and an open and honest culture. The registered manager and deputy manager were present and visible within the home .

Established quality assurance systems were used to monitor the service to continually drive improvement.

This unannounced inspection took place on 09 October 2015. The home provides support for up to three people learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were three people living at 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.

People told us that they felt safe in the home and there were clear lines of reporting safeguarding concerns to appropriate agencies; staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults.

Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that on the day of our inspection there were sufficient staff on duty. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work at the home.

Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People were actively involved in decision about their care and support needs There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did. Pictorial formats of weekly timetables and medical appointments were in place.

Staff had good relationships with the people who lived at the home. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The registered manager was visible and accessible. Staff and people living in the home were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.

During our visit, we were not able to speak in depth with people who lived at Allen Road, due to their medical conditions. We spoke with one of the three people who used the service. They shared some of their experiences of living at the home and we spoke with two members of staff of different grades.

This is a summary of what we found.

Is the service safe?

We saw that people were being cared for in an environment that was safe and clean.

Staff personnel records contained the information required by the Health and Social Care Act 2008. This meant the provider could demonstrate that the staff employed to work at the home were suitable and had the skills and experience needed to support the people living there.

CQC monitors compliance with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The aim is to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not restrict their freedom inappropriately. The safeguards should ensure that a care home or hospital only deprives someone of their liberty in a safe and specific way. This would only be done when it is in the best interests of the person and there is no other way to look after them. There were no restrictions on the freedom of people who lived at the home at the time we visited and no applications had been made to the local authority for authorised DoLS restrictions. The provider had policies and procedures in place and the DoLS Code of Practice was available for staff to refer to. Relevant staff understood when an application should be made and how to submit one.

Is the service effective?

The people we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care they received and that their needs had been met. They spoke positively about their care and the staff who supported them. It was clear from what we saw and from speaking with staff that they had a good understanding of the care and support needs of the people using the service. We saw from the training records we viewed that staff had received training to enable them to meet the needs of the people living at the home.

Is the service caring?

We saw that the staff showed patience and gave encouragement when they were supporting people and that people were able to do things at their own pace and were not rushed.

Is the service responsive?

People’s needs had been assessed before they moved into the home. The records we saw confirmed that people’s preferences, interests, aspirations and diverse needs had been recorded and care and support had been provided in accordance with people’s wishes. People had access to activities that were important to them and had been supported to maintain relationships with their friends and relatives.

Throughout our visit we found the atmosphere was calm and relaxed. We observed how the staff and the people who used the service worked together and it was clear that there were good relationships between them.

We saw that people’s rooms were spacious, light and clean. People had personalised their rooms with their personal belongings. There was a dining area, a kitchen and laundry and a lounge area. The lounge area contained items which reflected the interests of the people who used the service, for example model motor bikes.

Is the service well-led?

We found from speaking with staff that they had a good understanding of the home’s values, for example, one person told us that their priority was that the people who used the service were happy. Staff told us about their roles and responsibilities and they were clear about these. We saw that quality assurance processes were in place to make sure that the provider monitored the care provided and made improvements where necessary. For example, satisfaction surveys had been completed by people using the service and their families. The results had been analysed and an action plan produced.

A variety of information was displayed, such as activities for the week, the service aims and objectives, philosophy of care and a safeguarding flowchart.

We met and spoke with all three people that used the service. They had all lived together for several years and each person was able to tell us they were happy at ‘Allen Road’. All three people had recently enjoyed their seaside holiday.

We saw the main meal of the day served by the staff member. One person said, “I love my food here”. Portions were generous and we saw that each person thoroughly enjoyed their meal. One person said the meal was “their favourite”. The staff member said that meals were “always freshly prepared” and were served for people to enjoy when they returned home from their various daytime activities.

We found this small home to be well managed, comfortable, and appropriately maintained. We saw that people had received the support and care they needed.

The three people resident at 'Allen Road' had lived together for many years and knew each other very well. We were able to meet with all three people and they confirmed that they liked the staff and were happy living at 'Allen Road'. We saw that the staff member on duty had a good relationship with all three people, treated them with respect, and took an interest in what they had been doing during the day.

We found this small home to be well organised, comfortable, and appropriately maintained throughout. Each person received the support and encouragement they needed to lead fulfilling lives. We saw that people attended a day centre facility in the community and participated in various social activities, such as going out for meals or going shopping with staff.

People told us they were happy and liked living at Allen Road. They said they liked where the home was because it was near to the shops and town centre. They told us they liked the staff, got on well with them all, and received the support they needed.