Blossoms is a small residential care home providing personal care and support for up to six people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service. At the last inspection, the service was rated Good and at this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and they were confident on using the safeguarding reporting procedures. People were consistently protected from the risks of harm; staff knew how to manage risks, whilst promoting people's rights to take risks. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to continuously meet people’s needs. The medicines administration systems ensured people consistently received their medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. The staff support, training and professional development systems ensured staff had the right skills, knowledge and experience to effectively meet people’s needs. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

There were positive relationships between people using the service and the staff. The staff were caring and treated people with respect, kindness and courtesy. People had detailed personalised plans of care in place to enable staff to provide consistent care and support in line with their personal preferences. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider responded appropriately to any concerns or complaints.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager had good oversight and leadership of the service. People, their relatives and other professionals had confidence in the registered manager to lead the staff team in providing consistent high quality care.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 12 November 2014.

Blossoms is registered to provide accommodation and support for six people with a learning disability. On the day of our visit, there were six people living in the home.

The service had 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.

People were relaxed, comfortable and happy with the staff that supported them on the day of the inspection. We saw staff talking with people in a friendly manner and observed that they assisted people as they needed, whilst encouraging them to be independent.

We saw that people were free to move around the house and garden, and had free access to their bedrooms. One person confirmed they were able to come and go as they pleased and were not restricted from engaging in activities of their choice.

People were able to take part in a varied range of activities which reflected their individual hobbies and interests. Risk assessments within people’s care records were accurately completed and regularly reviewed so that people were supported to live active lives and access the local community.

We found that safeguarding procedures had been followed and that action was taken to keep people safe, minimising any risks to health and safety. Staff knew how to manage risks to promote people’s safety, and balanced these against people’s rights to take risks.

There were adequate numbers of staff on duty to support people safely and ensure everyone had opportunities to take part in activities.

The provider had a robust recruitment process in place. Staff we spoke with told us that they had not been offered employment until these checks had been confirmed. Records we looked at confirmed that staff started work in the home after all recruitment checks had been satisfactorily completed.

Medicines were managed safely and the processes in place ensured that the administration and handling of medicines was suitable for the people who lived at Blossoms.

There was a positive culture within the service which was demonstrated by the attitudes of staff. When we spoke with staff we found that their approach to people was to help develop their independence. We saw the service was organised to suit the needs of the people who lived there.

Staff were well supported through a system of induction, training based on the needs of the people who lived at Blossoms, supervision, appraisal and professional development.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. Some people who used the service did not have the ability to make decisions about aspects of their care and support; where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about something, we found that best interest meetings were held and details documented in people’s care records. Staff understood the processes in place to protect people who could not make decisions and followed the legal requirements outlined in the MCA and DoLS.

People told us that the food they had was good and they had sufficient quantities of it. We found that people had choices of meals and easy access to snacks and fluids throughout the day.

People had access to health care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment to meet their individual needs. We saw that staff followed advice given by professionals to make sure people received the treatment they needed.

There were regular reviews of care for each person who used the service which enabled individual care to be monitored. We saw that reviews for people who lived at the care home had been carried out with appropriate people.

Staff said that communication in the home was good and they always felt able to make suggestions. We saw there were monthly meetings for staff which gave them an opportunity to share ideas and give information.

People knew who to speak to if they wanted to raise a concern. There were systems in place for responding to complaints. People we spoke with told us they were happy with the service provided and how staff provided their support.

We found that the home had good leadership and that the staff were positive in their desire to provide good quality care for people.

We spoke with two people. Both people said that they were very happy living in the home.

We spoke with the relatives of four people. They all told us that they had been fully satisfied with the care their relatives received.

One relative said; ‘’I can’t speak too highly of the care. It is excellent’’.

We observed the relationship between staff and people who lived in the home. This was friendly and helpful.

This was a positive inspection. People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the care provided. All the relatives we spoke with also said that they had no concerns. The essential standards we inspected were found to have been met.

There was one suggestion made; for the home’s transport to be able to accommodate a wheelchair. Currently the person has to pay for a private taxi if she wanted to go out to follow her own activities.

We spoke with two people who lived in the home. We also spoke with four relatives about their views of the care provided by the service.

The people we spoke with both confirmed that they had no concerns. They indicated that they liked living in the home, that they could go to staff if they were unhappy and needed to speak to someone, they enjoyed their lifestyles and they felt safe living in the home. One person said: ‘’I came here from somewhere else, but I like living here’'.

The relatives we spoke with all praised the service. One relative said: '’We have never worried that he is happy there. He always looks forward to going back after a visit to us’’.

The people we spoke with both confirmed that they had no concerns. They indicated that they likes living in the home, that they could go to staff if they were unhappy and needed to speak to someone, they enjoyed their lifestyles and they felt safe living in the home. One person said: ‘’I came here from somewhere else, but I like living here’'.

The relatives we spoke with all praised the service. One relative said: '’We have never worried that he is happy there. He always looks forward to going back after a visit to us’’.