We carried out this unannounced inspection on 20 July 2017. This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with the commission in August 2016 and we have a made a recommendation to the provider.

Grange View is a detached Victorian property that has been suitably adapted to accommodate up to 11 people aged 18 years and above with complex needs and severe learning disabilities. The home is situated in the small coastal town of Grange Over Sands and provides care and accommodation that promotes independent living and life skills.

The accommodation is over three floors with several large communal rooms including a separate dinning area and a communal kitchen. Rooms are designed to promote independent living and all bedrooms have an ensuite. There are, within the property, two individual apartments with their own access that can be used as completely self contained. There is on site staff accommodation for care staff to sleep in overnight and a small office. At the time of our inspection there were four people living at Grange View.

There was a manager in post who had commenced their application to become registered at the time of the 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We saw records showing staff had completed training in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. Where accidents and incidents had occurred we found that these had usually been reported to the appropriate authorities and actions had been taken to reduce any further incidents. During the inspection we found that one incident that had occurred had not been reported in a timely manner and this was addressed immediately by the manager.

We saw that the providers recruitment procedures were robust. This ensured fit and proper persons had been employed. On the day of the inspection we observed staffing levels were made adequate to meet the needs of the people currently living in the home. We saw that staffing levels were flexible and could be adjusted to ensure that people with specific needs could be better supported at times when they most needed it.

Staff training was on going and people had received sufficient training to safely support and care for people living in the home. Staff were supported by the manager and seniors in the staff team through regular staff meetings, supervision and appraisals.

We saw that the service worked well with a variety of external agencies and health professionals to provide appropriate care and support to meet people’s physical and emotional health needs.

We saw that medicines were administered safely and records were appropriately completed. Staff who were responsible for the administration of medications had received the appropriate training. We found the storage facilities in use, for medications, at the time of the inspection were not all safe and the provider took immediate action during the inspection to rectify this.

Observations during our inspection evidenced people were given choices about how they wanted to be supported and how to live their lives. Support was provided in a manner to people that promoted their independence. For example enabling them to independently access activities, education and employment in the local community.

The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves. Best interest meetings were held to assist people who were not always able to make difficult decisions for themselves and where relevant independent advocacy was arranged.

We saw that people were treated with kindness and respect and they and their relatives made very p