Austin Place is a purpose built complex for people who wish to live independently but have access to personal care should they require it. The complex includes a café, communal lounge and a hairdressers as well as individual fully equipped apartments.

This inspection took place on 1 August 2017 and was announced. On the day of the inspection two people were receiving personal care. Neither person required support with their medicines. Both people had full capacity to make their own decisions and there were no restrictions in place.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager helped us during our inspection.

People lived in a homely environment. People’s apartments were furnished with their own belongings and they provided people with their own personal space. There was a communal lounge area and we saw people gathered there during the day playing cards.

Although the registered provider did not provide specific activities for people, they supported people with setting up a residents association to discuss activities and make suggestions in relation to how people could spend their time.

People told us they received care from kind, caring staff who showed them respect. They told us that staff arrived on time to give them their care and that they stayed the full allocated time. People said staff took time to talk to them and they felt comfortable in their presence. Where staff supported people with their food, people told us they made the decisions on what they ate.

Staff met with their line manager on a one to one basis and staff said they felt supported. We found the registered manager had good management oversight of the service and there was a good working relationship between them and staff. Although people had capacity, staff understood the principals of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). Staff received a good range of training and staff met together regularly as a team to discuss all aspects of the service.

There were a sufficient number of staff available for people and it was evident staff knew people well and understood people’s individuality and needs. Staff were aware of their role in keeping people safe so they would not be at risk of harm, either by an accident or from abuse. People told us they felt safe.

The registered manager undertook quality assurance audits to ensure the care provided was of a standard people should expect. We found the registered manager responded promptly to any areas we raised with them during our inspection. Recruitment processes were robust to help ensure that the registered manager had only suitable staff working at the service.

Regular fire checks and fire drills were carried out to help ensure staff would know what to do in the event of an emergency. If people required support out of hours, they had access to an emergency number who would respond to their call. Information was given to the service the following day to help ensure staff were up to date with people’s needs.

People’s care plans were very detailed and included all the information necessary to help ensure people received responsive care. People told us they were involved in their care plan and we read care plans were reviewed regularly in conjunction with the person and they had signed them.

A complaints procedure was available for any concerns. The registered manager told us they had received no formal complaints relating to the care people received. A satisfaction questionnaire was being sent out in September 2017 to obtain feedback from people on the service that they received.