The inspection was carried out on 31 May 2018 and was unannounced.

Beach 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.

In addition, this service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults.

Beach House is residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 9 people. The service is located in an end of terrace property, within a residential area of Birchington-on-Sea, close to the sea front and shops which people visit regularly.

There were eight people living at Beach House. Two others were supported with the regulated activity of personal care and lived in their own flats. Staff provided other support, such as encouraging and helping with cooking and cleaning.

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.

The service is run by a 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. The registered manager was present on the day of the inspection.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good

Why the service is rated Good

People at Beach House told us “this place is one in a billion,” “I love it here”.

People at Beach House continued to feel safe. Risks continued to be identified and minimised and people were encouraged to take positive risks to increase their independence and control over their lives. Most people were supported to manage their own money whilst others requested that their finances be managed by staff on their behalf. The system for managing people’s finances was safe.

Staff continued to be recruited safely and people were involved in the interview process. Appropriate checks were made before staff started working with people and a robust induction process was in place to ensure that new staff could provide the care that people needed.

Medicines were managed, stored and disposed of safely and people were encouraged to manage their medicines independently as far as possible.

Staff continued to be up to date with training and the registered manager used a system of checks to monitor staff performance. Systems and processes were in place to learn from mistakes. People told us that there were enough members of staff on duty and this was reflected on staff rotas.

Beach House was decorated in a way that felt homely. It was clean and smelt fresh and people had different areas to go to spend time alone or with others. A log cabin for arts and crafts had been set up since the previous inspection, which proudly displayed people’s models and pieces of art.

People felt relaxed in the company of staff and would freely go to staff if they had any concerns. Staff knew people very well and what action to take if people were unhappy or unwell. The staff team had a close work

This inspection took place on 12 February 2016 and was unannounced.

Beach House provides accommodation and personal care for up nine people who have problems with their mental health, such as bipolar or paranoid schizophrenia. The service is in a residential area near the centre of Birchington-on-Sea.

The service is run by two providers, one of whom is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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. The providers were present on the day of the inspection.

People told us that they felt safe living at the service. People looked comfortable with other people, staff and in the environment. Staff understood the importance of keeping people safe. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse and how to raise any concerns they may have.

Risks to people’s safety were identified, assessed and managed appropriately. People received their medicines safely and were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed to reduce the risks of further events. This analysis was reviewed, used as a learning opportunity and discussed with staff.

Recruitment processes were in place to check that staff were of good character. There was a training programme in place to make sure staff had the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively. Refresher training was provided regularly. People were consistently supported by sufficient numbers of staff. There was a small and well established staff team.

People were provided with a choice of healthy food and drinks which ensured that their nutritional needs were met. People were supported, when they chose to be, to prepare and cook meals. People’s health was monitored and people were referred to and supported to see healthcare professionals when they needed to and positive feedback was received from health professionals.

The registered manager and staff understood how the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 was applied to ensure decisions made for people without capacity were only made in their best interests. CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. These safeguards protect the rights of people using services by ensuring that if there are any restrictions to their freedom and liberty, these have been agreed by the local authority as being required to protect the person from harm.

People and their relatives were involved with the planning of their care. People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. Staff knew people well and reacted quickly and calmly to reassure people when they became agitated.

People were supported by staff to keep occupied to reduce the risk of social isolation. People, their relatives, staff and health professionals were encouraged to provide feedback to the provider to continuously improve the quality of the service delivered. People knew how to raise any concerns and felt that they would be listened to and that actions would be taken.

Staff had an in-depth appreciation of people’s individual needs around privacy and dignity. Staff were highly motivated to provide kind and compassionate care to people and felt it was very important to also support people’s relatives. Staff told us it was essential for people to be supported to be as independent as possible.

The registered manager coached and mentored staff through regular one to one supervision. The registered manager worked with the staff each day to maintain oversight of the service. Staff were clear about what was expecte