We carried out this announced inspection on 12 and 16 January 2018. At our last inspection of the home in May 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection in January 2018 we found the service remained Good.

Ann House was purpose built to provide personal and nursing care for up to 16 adults who have a learning disability and/or mental health needs. The accommodation is arranged over two floors and there is a passenger lift to assist people to access the upper floor. There are communal facilities on the ground and first floors of the home which people who live there share.

The service does not provide permanent accommodation for people. People are provided with specialist care and treatment to support them to be able to move to a more independent living environment.

Ann House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People were safe living in the home. Hazards to people’s safety had been identified and managed. People were protected against harm and abuse.

There were enough staff, with the appropriate skills and knowledge, to support people. People were able to follow a range of activities they enjoyed because there were staff available to support them.

Safe systems were used when new staff were employed to check they were suitable to work in the home.

The focus of the service was on promoting people’s independence and placing them at the centre of their care. The staff knew people well, gave them their time and treated people with respect. 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.

The staff had received a range of training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to provide a good quality of support.

People were provided with choices of meals, drinks and snacks that they enjoyed. People were also able to choose and make their own meals, with support from staff as they required.

Care was planned and delivered to meet people’s needs. Appropriate specialist services had been included in assessing people’s needs and planning their support.

The provider had a procedure for managing complaints about the service. Where complaints identified areas where the service could be further improved the registered manager and provider took action.

The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager and by the provider’s director of operations. There were appropriate arrangements to ensure the effective management of the service. The staff in the home felt well supported by the senior management team.

The director of operations carried out regular visits to the home to support the registered manager and to oversee the quality of the service. The provider had good systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

The registered manager had links with health and social care services and worked with them to ensure people received prompt and appropriate support.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We carried out this announced inspection on 22 May 15. Ann House was registered in April 2014 and this was our first inspection of the service.

Ann House provides accommodation and personal and nursing care for up to 16 people who have a learning disability and/or mental health needs. The service does not provide permanent accommodation for people. People are provided with specialist care and treatment to support them to be able to move to a more independent living environment.

There are eight bedrooms on the ground floor of the home and eight bedrooms on the first floor of the property. There are communal facilities on the ground and first floors of the home which people who live there share.

There was a registered manager employed in the home. 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 used the service were safe. Staff were trained and knowledgeable about how to identify and report any concerns about a person’s safety or wellbeing.

There were enough staff, with the appropriate skills, qualifications and knowledge to support people and to meet their needs. The staffing levels allowed people to take part in a range of activities and to make choices about their lives.

People’s rights were protected because the registered manager was knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Where people required continual supervision and support to maintain their safety appropriate procedures had been followed to ensure their rights were protected.

Ann House was purpose built as a care home and provided people with a safe and comfortable environment that was suitable to meet their needs.

The focus of the service was on promoting people’s skills and there were appropriate strategies in place to assist people to gain confidence and to have greater independence. The staff were kind and friendly to people and gave people the support they needed.

People made choices about their care and were given the information they needed to understand their support and to make choices about their lives. The staff employed at Ann House knew each person who lived in the home and the support they needed.

The registered provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. People who lived at Ann House were placed at the centre of their care and were asked for their views about the support they received.