We inspected Carmen Lodge on 2 October 2017. This was an unannounced inspection. On the 24 and 27 November 2015 we carried out an unannounced inspection of the service. The service was overall rated as Good however we found the service did not have a robust recruitment system in place. We issued one requirement action. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

The service provides accommodation and support with personal care for up to 11 adults with mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection 10 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The experiences of people who lived at the service were positive. People and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe, staff were kind and the care they received was good. Staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.

Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance on how to support people safely. Medicines were managed in a safe manner. The service employed sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs. People’s finances were managed safely.

Staff undertook training and received regular supervision to help support them to provide effective care. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). MCA and DoLS is legislation protecting people who are unable to make decisions for themselves or whom the state has decided need to be deprived of their liberty in their own best interests. We saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank.

Person centred support plans were in place and people and their relatives were involved in planning the care and support they received.

People’s cultural and religious needs were respected when planning and delivering care. Discussions with staff members showed that they respected people’s sexual orientation so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people could feel accepted, safe and welcomed in the service.

People had access to a wide variety of activities within the community. The provider had a complaint procedure in place. People knew how to make a complaint.

The service used inclusive ways to enable people and staff be empowered and voice their opinions in all aspects of the service. Staff were motivated and felt supported by the registered manager. Health and social care professionals spoke enthusiastically about how the service was run. There was a strong emphasis on improvement, driven by the registered manager. Monitoring by the management team ensured that quality and safety issues were addressed quickly. People were asked to give their views and were involved in the recruitment process, they were listened to and their responses were addressed.

We inspected Carmen Lodge on 24 and 27 November 2015. This was an unannounced inspection.

The service provides accommodation and support with personal care for up to 11 adults with mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection 11 people were using the service. This was the first inspection of the service under the provider Forest Residential Care Homes Limited.

There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection. 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.

At this inspection we found the recruitment and selection process was not always robust. We have made a recommendation about the management of PRN medicines.

The experiences of people who lived at the home were positive. People told us they felt safe living at the home, staff were kind and compassionate and the care they received was good. We found staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.

Staff undertook training and received regular supervision to help support them to provide effective care. The registered manager and staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) People told us they liked the food provided and we saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank. People had access to health care professionals as appropriate.

Staff told us the service had an open and inclusive atmosphere and the registered manager was approachable and accessible. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place. These included surveys, audits and staff and resident meetings.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.