Baytrees is a service which is registered to provide accommodation for 10 people with a learning disability who require personal care. Care is provided over two floors in the main house and in a separate building in the grounds of the home.

At the last inspection carried out in November 2014 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We carried out this inspection as part of our routine schedule of inspections and to check that people were still receiving a good standard of care and support. The inspection took place on 23 May 2017 and was unannounced.

The service is run by a husband and wife partnership. Both partners work in the service and one of them is the 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 told us they felt safe with staff. There were no concerns about the safety of people. People knew who they would speak to if they had concerns. The service followed the West Sussex safeguarding procedure, which was available to staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in reporting any suspicion of abuse.

People were protected from risks to their health and wellbeing. Up to date plans were in place to manage risks, without unduly restricting people’s independence. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and safe recruitment practices were followed. Medicines were managed safely.

People felt they were treated with respect and their privacy was promoted. Staff were caring and responsive to the needs of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way.

Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs safely and to a good standard. They felt the support received helped them to do their jobs well.

People benefited from receiving a service from staff who worked well together as a team. Staff were confident they could take any concerns to the management and these would be taken seriously. People and their relatives were aware of how to raise a concern and were confident appropriate action would be taken.

People and their relatives were empowered to contribute to improve the service. They had opportunities to feedback their views about the service and quality of the care they had received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection was unannounced and was carried out on 5 November 2014. Baytrees is a service which is registered to provide accommodation for 10 people with a learning disability who require personal care. On the day of our visit there were nine people living at the home. Care is provided over two floors in the main house and in a separate building in the grounds of the home.

The service is run by a husband and wife partnership. Both partners work in the home and one of them is the 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe and well looked after at the home. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults and staff had a good awareness of the correct procedures if they considered someone who they provided care to was at risk of potential harm. There were suitable procedures in place to ensure medicines were stored, handled and administered safely.

People enjoyed the food at the home and were given choices. People had meetings where menus and food requests were discussed. People were supported to shop and cook. People’s specific dietary needs were catered for.

There were up to date and relevant care plans that reflected people’s individual needs. People were actively involved in care planning and in all decisions about their care. The staff involved other professionals and families where appropriate. Care plans were personalised to reflect individual’s needs and preferences. Staff understood people’s care and support needs, and were kind and friendly. They treated people with dignity and respect.

Staffing levels were adequate to meet people’s needs and staff were competent and confident in supporting people’s individual needs. Staff told us they prided themselves on the individualised approach to the care they provided. Recruitment procedures were being followed to protect people from being supported by unsuitable workers.

The CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The manager and provider understood when an application should be made and how to submit one. We found the home to be meeting the requirements of DoLS. People’s human rights were properly recognised, respected and promoted. Staff had a good understanding of mental capacity and consent and how this affected people who lived there.

The home was well run and there was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the home. Staff and people said they could speak to the manager if they had any concerns and felt involved in the running of the home.

There were seven people living at the home at the time of the inspection. We spoke to the manager, reviewed records and observed interactions between staff and the people cared for. We also spoke with relatives and staff.

People told us that they were well supported with their care and treatment. We made observations throughout the visit and saw people had been choices as to how they wanted to spend their time. Staff told us that people were encouraged to do activities which they enjoyed. One member of staff told us, “We enjoy working here. It’s hard work, but very rewarding”.

We observed that the home was generally clean and tidy. Rooms we looked at were personalised. People that used the service had their own possessions in their rooms.

One relative that we spoke with told us the manager and staff communicated well and discussed any issues with them. They told us, "Both my husband and I believe the care is first class”.

We talked with two people who lived at Baytrees. They told us that they liked living there. “One person said “I like it – its nice, nice people and I’m close to my parents”. They confirmed that they had care plans. They told us that the staff talked to them about their care plans and read them out to them. They both said they felt safe living there.

We asked them if there were things to do at the Baytrees. They talked about the various activities they enjoyed. These included regular outings to local places of interest, being able to walk down to the local shops if they wanted to and bowling. One of them said “I like going out to Arundel”. The other person said “If the weather is nice I can go for a walk when a member of staff is free.”

We also talked to two members of staff who were on duty. They told us felt well supported in their work and felt they have received all the training they needed to undertake their role.