This was an announced inspection carried out on the 19 and 20 July 2017. We last inspected the service on 16 July 2014. At that time, the service was rated ‘Good’ across each of the five key questions.

Broom Lane, part of City Care Partnership, provides high quality person-centred support to people aged 18 and over living with autism and/or a learning disability. Modern purpose built accommodation and communal facilities are provided in partnership with a Registered Social Landlord.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with 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.

Broom Lane is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide support for up to 18 people. At the time of our inspection visit, 17 people were supported and the service had one vacancy. Located in Levenshulme, the service benefits from excellent transport links to Manchester City Centre and Stockport.

The model of support offered at Broom Lane provides a unique combination of transition services with varied supported living accommodation. Five apartments were designed for people with significant social communication issues and who cannot share space easily with others. 24 hour support is available for these people. Eight apartments are designed to support individuals who are able to manage quite independently, still require periodic support through the day, but who do not necessarily need support at night. If support is needed at night, staff are readily available. These apartments are similar in design to mainstream social housing apartments to ease people’s transition into mainstream housing where it is appropriate. The shared house, comprising of two studio flats and three single occupancy bedrooms, was designed for younger people entering services.

Due to the nature of the service provided at Broom Lane we gave 24 hours’ notice. This enabled the service to produce a ‘social story.’ Social stories are a method of sharing information using visual supports. This helped people who used the service at Broom Lane understand why we were visiting their home.

There was a truly open and welcoming atmosphere on entering the premises. The registered manager, staff and people who used the service at Broom Lane were enthusiastic about the inspection visit and were eager to share experiences. One person who used the service gave the inspection team an interesting and engaging audio visual presentation of their photographic skills.

Everyone we spoke with confirmed they considered Broom Lane to be a safe place to live. The service had an ethos of ‘Manage Risk, Maximise Life.’ This ethos was brought to life in the way people were supported to have as much freedom of choice in their lives as possible.

People who used the service at Broom Lane were supported by well trained and highly skilled staff. The service demonstrated industry leading best practice through continued professional accreditation with The National Autistic Society. It was strikingly apparent that the service had the right people, doing the right job at the right time. This meant the service was highly effective in responding to people’s individual needs.

A comprehensive induction and training programme was in place for new staff and a framework for continuous professional development was well embedded for established staff. All new employees were required to sign-up to complete the Care Certificate. We saw how the service had adapted the Care Certificate syllabus in order to make it more relevant for supporting people living with autism and learning disabilities.

The services ethos, vision and values promoted people’s rights to make choices and live fulfilled and valued lives. This was well reflected in the exception

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

This inspection on 16 July 2014 was unannounced. The one previous inspection of Broom Lane in April 2013 found no breaches of regulations. The service had opened in July 2012.

Broom Lane is a purpose-built supported living scheme for young people with a diagnosis of autism. 18 people can be accommodated. At the date of our visit there was one vacancy. There are three buildings on the same site. Two buildings contain independent flats; one set of flats is for people able to live more independently, the second set is for those with more complex needs. The third building is a shared house with five bedrooms, two of which have self-catering facilities. This house is described as a “transition and assessment” service. The flats in the other buildings are intended for long term occupation. The service is in the centre of Levenshulme with easy access to Manchester city centre and Stockport.

There was a registered manager who had been in post since the month before the service opened in July 2012. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

We found that the service kept people safe, and that staff were well trained to deal with the particular needs of this group of people. We found that the service provided good care specifically related to the varied needs of people living in Broom Lane. Ample activities were arranged, according to people’s abilities. The service had a problem with high staff turnover, but was adopting strategies to deal with the issue.

We talked with four people: three people who used the service and one other person's representative. People told us they were happy with the service provided at Broom Lane.

People who used the service said:

“I can do what I like.”

“The staff are very kind.”

And:

“The staff are nice with me.”

The representative commented:

“I have had no issues with this service.”

We found the service ensured that people who used the service were treated with dignity and respect.

We found people were safeguarded from harm because their physical and emotional health care needs were assessed and the appropriate support offered.

We found the service protected vulnerable adults from harm by following the correct safeguarding rules and guidelines.

We found the service had systems in place to check the quality of the service and this included finding out the opinions of people who used the service and their representatives.