Meesons Lodge is one of a number of services owned by Care Management Group Ltd. The service provides accommodation and support for up to 12 people who have a learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment. On the day of our inspection the service had two vacancies.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manager 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 were supported with taking every day risks and encouraged to take part in daily activities and outings. However, systems and records to manage risk and to check on the quality and safety of the service needed strengthening to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing was maintained. This was in connection to pressure care, bed rails, monitoring people’s temperature and their weight.

Medication needed further monitoring to ensure people always had their prescribed medication. Records needed to be improved to ensure an audit trail was available on what action had been taken if medication was not available.

Staff showed a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and were clear about the actions they would take to protect people.

There was a regular and consistent staff team. The provider had appropriate recruitment checks in place which helped to protect people and ensure staff were suitable to work at the service. There were sufficient numbers of skilled, well trained and qualified staff on duty. Staff told us that they felt well supported in their role.

We saw that appropriate assessments had been carried out where people living at the service were not able to make decisions for themselves; to help ensure their rights were protected.

People were supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs and were offered choice. We found that people’s healthcare was good. People had access to a range of healthcare providers such as their GP, dentists, chiropodists and opticians.

We found that detailed assessments had been carried out and that the care plans were very well developed around each individual’s needs and preferences.

People were happy and relaxed with staff. Systems were in place for people to raise concerns and they could be confident they would be listened to and appropriate action was taken. People were treated with dignity and respect and staff interacted with people in a kind, caring and sensitive manner.

The provider had a quality assurance systems in place. People had the opportunity to feedback on their experiences and staff tried to involve people in the running of the service. The service was well managed and the registered manager was looking at ways to develop the service and ensure people received the care and support they needed in a safe environment.

The inspection took place on the 22 April 2015.

Meesons Lodge is one of a number of services owned by Care Management Group Ltd. The service provides accommodation and support for up to 12 people who have a learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment. On the day of our inspection the service had one vacancy.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manager 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 were treated with dignity and respect and staff interacted with people in a kind, caring and sensitive manner. Staff showed a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and were clear about the actions they would take to protect people.

There was a regular and consistent staff team. The provider had appropriate recruitment checks in place which helped to protect people and ensure staff were suitable to work at the service. There were sufficient numbers of skilled, well trained and qualified staff on duty.

Staff told us that they felt well supported in their role. We saw that staff had received regular training, but formal supervision was an area the manager was in the process of developing.

We found that detailed assessments had been carried out and that the care plans were very well developed around each individual’s needs and preferences. There were risk assessments in place and plans on how the risks were to be managed. People were supported with taking every day risks and encouraged to take part in daily activities and outings.

We saw that appropriate assessments had been carried out where people living at the service were not able to make decisions for themselves; to help ensure their rights were protected.

People were happy and relaxed with staff. Systems were in place for people to raise concerns and they could be confident they would be listened to and appropriate action was taken.

People’s medication was well managed and this helped to ensure that people received their medication safely.

People were supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs and were offered choice.

We found that people’s healthcare was good. People had access to a range of healthcare providers such as their GP, dentists, chiropodists and opticians.

The provider had an effective quality assurance systems in place. People had the opportunity to feedback on their experiences. Staff tried to involve people in day to day decisions and the running of the service. The service was well managed.

When we visited Meesons Lodge we found that the care plans of people who used the service had been written in a personalised way. People's care and treatment had been planned and developed with relatives of people who used the service and this was reviewed regularly. One relative said, "The staff here are excellent and the personal care is very good."

We found that all areas of the home were hygienic and well maintained. A cleaning schedule was in place and this was monitored for effectiveness. The kitchen area was hygienic and food was stored appropriately. Staff had been trained in infection control and food hygiene.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified and skilled staff on duty. Training was relevant to the needs of people who used the service. Where staff shortages occurred, the provider had a system in place to ensure that staff numbers were maintained.

Staff were supported through training, regular supervision and an annual appraisal. Opportunities had been provided for staff to develop themselves professionally. Some of the staff we spoke with commented that the home would benefit from better supervision of night duty staff.

The provider regularly assessed and monitored the quality of the services they provided. There was a programme of audits and an annual survey that relatives and staff were sent. There was a system in place to learn from adverse incidents and events.

When we visited Meesons Lodge, people using the service were unable to tell us about their care and treatment experiences, so we spoke with relatives for their views. They were all very complimentary about the care that was being provided and had high praise for the staff that worked there.

One person said, “I am very happy with the care here, it is excellent. All the staff work very hard and I have been involved in the planning of the care and treatment they give.”

When we looked at the care files we found that they contained very detailed information to enable the provider to meet the needs of people using the service. They contained appropriate risk assessments for each user and it was clear that relatives had been regularly involved in both health and personal care.

We also observed staff members treating people with respect throughout the day and when talking with them, it was evident that they understood respect issues.

We also looked at safeguarding procedures and training and found that staff had a good awareness of the different types of abuse and how to report it. Relatives felt that service users were living in a safe environment.

The records we saw showed that regular reviews of the service had taken place. These took the form of staff surveys, audits by the manager and opportunities for relatives to provide feedback. This enabled areas for improvement to be identified.