This inspection of Grenfell House took place on 1 & 2 February 2018. This was the first inspection of the service which began operating from its current location in 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our inspection because the service delivers personal care to people living in a supported living setting and we wanted to be sure the registered manager and people who used the service would be available to answer our questions during the inspection.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience had expertise in caring for someone with a learning disability.

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.

Grenfell House is run by PossAbilities, a social enterprise designed to help individuals with mental health difficulties, learning and physical disabilities live the life they choose. This service provides care and support to people with learning disabilities and mental health needs in 25 ‘supported living’ settings within Halton, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. We conducted our site visit at Grenfell House which is the registered office; however, we also visited two of the properties in which people lived during our inspection. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing support to 74 people.

People told us they felt safe when being supported by the Grenfell House staff.

Risks to people’s health, safety and welfare were assessed and detailed information was available to guide staff on how to support people to stay safe, whilst promoting their independence as far as possible. Bespoke Positive Behaviour Support plans were in place for those people who displayed challenging behaviour. These plans were comprehensive and enabled staff to understand people’s behaviour and how best to manage this for the safety of the individual and others.

Medication was managed safely and administered by staff who were appropriately trained. Support plans were in place regarding PRN (as needed) medication. The registered manager had addressed previous issues in relation to the recording of medications and implemented further training and development for staff in response.

Staff recruitment procedures were robust and ensured that staff appointed were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

There were appropriate numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s needs and to ensure people received consistent support. Staff we spoke with were able to describe the course of action they would take if they felt someone was being harmed or abused, and understood the reporting procedures.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed and the registered manager had implemented changes to the service after reviewing the findings of safeguarding investigations. We saw evidence that ‘lessons learned’ were regularly incorporated into the on-going learning and development of the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Records demonstrated that processes were in place to assess people’s capacity and make decisions in their best