The inspection of Alston Court Residential Home (Alston Court) took place on the 22 and 23 June 2017 and was unannounced. This is the service’s first inspection since a change of ownership on the 5 January 2016.

The service provides residential care for up to 11 adults with a learning disability. They may also have a physical disability, autism and a sensory impairment. Ten people were registered to live at the service when we inspected. Six people were resident on the first day as four were on holiday. The four people returned from their holiday on the second day we were there.

A registered manager was employed to manage the service. 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 they were safe and happy living at Alston Court and were looked after by staff who were kind and treated them with respect, compassion and understanding. All staff expressed a commitment to values of providing good care and to continue to improve the service. This was led from the front by the registered manager and provider.

People were in control of their care. People’s medicines were administered safely and they had their nutritional and health needs met. People could see health professionals as required. People had risk assessments in place so they could live safely at the service. These were clearly linked to people’s care plans and staff training to ensure care met people’s individual needs. People’s care plans were written with them, were person centred and reflected how people wanted their care delivered.

Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm and abuse. Staff were recruited safely and underwent training to ensure they were able to carry out their role effectively. Staff were trained to meet people’s specific needs. Staff promoted people’s rights to be involved in planning and consenting to their care. Staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This meant people’s human rights were upheld.

Activities were provided to keep people physically and cognitively stimulated. People were actively involved in how they wanted their day to be.

The provider and registered manager ensured there were systems in place to measure the quality of the service. People and staff were involved in giving feedback on the service. Everyone felt they were listened to and any contribution they made was taken seriously. There was close communication between the provider and registered manager but this was not recorded. They were looking of ways to record this and to ensure the service continued to meet people’s needs as they aged.