This inspection was announced and took place on 8 September 2017.

At the last inspection in August 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

High Cross House provides accommodation and personal care for up to nine people who have a learning disability. On the day of the inspection there were eight people in residence.

The home had a registered manager who was present on the day 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.

People felt safe living in the home and staff knew how to protect them from the risk of potential abuse. Staff were aware of how to reduce the risk of harm to people. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. People were assisted by staff to take their prescribed medicines as directed by the prescriber.

People were cared for by skilled staff who were supported in their role by the registered manager. People were encouraged to make their own decisions to ensure they received a service specific to their needs. People had access to food and drinks at times that suited them. Where needed people were assisted by staff to access relevant healthcare services to promote their physical and mental health.

People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People’s involvement in their care planning ensured they received a service that reflected their preference. People’s right to privacy and dignity was respected by staff.

People’s involvement in their care assessment ensured they received a service the way they liked and they were supported to pursue their chosen social activity. People felt confident to share any concerns they had with the registered manager or staff and could be assured their concerns would be listened to and acted on.

Systems and practices enabled people to express their views about the service provided to them. People and staff were aware of who was running the home and staff felt supported by the registered manager to carry out their role. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided to people.

This inspection was announced and took place on 8 September 2017.

At the last inspection in August 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

High Cross House provides accommodation and personal care for up to nine people who have a learning disability. On the day of the inspection there were eight people in residence.

The home had a registered manager who was present on the day 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.

People felt safe living in the home and staff knew how to protect them from the risk of potential abuse. Staff were aware of how to reduce the risk of harm to people. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. People were assisted by staff to take their prescribed medicines as directed by the prescriber.

People were cared for by skilled staff who were supported in their role by the registered manager. People were encouraged to make their own decisions to ensure they received a service specific to their needs. People had access to food and drinks at times that suited them. Where needed people were assisted by staff to access relevant healthcare services to promote their physical and mental health.

People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People’s involvement in their care planning ensured they received a service that reflected their preference. People’s right to privacy and dignity was respected by staff.

People’s involvement in their care assessment ensured they received a service the way they liked and they were supported to pursue their chosen social activity. People felt confident to share any concerns they had with the registered manager or staff and could be assured their concerns would be listened to and acted on.

Systems and practices enabled people to express their views about the service provided to them. People and staff were aware of who was running the home and staff felt supported by the registered manager to carry out their role. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided to people.

During our inspection we spoke with seven people who used the service, two members of staff and the registered manager.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. One person told us, “I am happy living here because we all get on with each other”. Another person said, “I like all the staff here, not just one”.

People told us they were involved in the planning of their care and support. We saw that people were offered choices around what they wanted to do and their choices were respected.

We saw people getting the care they had agreed to receive by staff who promoted their independence.

People told us they chose what to eat and drink and we saw that people were supported to eat and drink a healthy and balanced diet that met their individual needs.

People were protected against the risk of abuse because staff were aware of how to identify and report concerns about people’s safety and welfare. The provider also had systems in place to ensure that staff were suitable to work with the people who used the service.

We saw that improvements had been made to the way that medicines were stored and administered, which meant people were protected against the risks associated with medicines.

We spoke with seven people using this service, two relatives and four members of staff. People using the service told us that they like living in the home. One person said, “It’s great here. I like being with the staff and my friends”. Another person said, “The staff are wonderful. We all get on well”. Relatives that we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care provided. One relative said, “I am extremely happy with the care provided for X. I couldn’t ask for better”.

During our inspection we saw that people were supported to make decisions and were involved in the planning of their care. We saw that people were supported to engage in appropriate community activities and that their independence was promoted.

We observed people receiving care and treatment by staff who had the required knowledge and skills to provide the level of care that people required. Care records were accurate, up to date and were stored securely.

We saw that there was an effective complaints system in place which people using the service and their relatives were aware of.

We identified some problems with the way that medicines were stored and administered, but improvements were made by the registered manager during our inspection.

We carried out this inspection because we had not visited the service for some time and we did not have enough information about the service to assess compliance. We wanted to see what life was like for the people who lived in the home.

There were nine people living at High Cross House when we visited on 14 February 2012. The visit was unannounced which means the provider and the staff did not know we were coming. We were accompanied by an expert by experience who took part in the inspection and talked to the people who use the care service. They looked at what happens around the home; observed how everyone got on together and what the home felt like. The expert by experience took some notes and wrote a report about what they had found. Their comments have been included in this inspection report.

People told us, "I like living here, we all get along and share the chores between us." "We have our bedroom door keys and help to cook our own meals. We all have jobs that we do during the week and have things we like to be involved with at night such as basketball sessions."

"I go to staff if I need to, they support me and have helped me when I've needed it."

Relatives said, "We've been really happy with the support provided, our relative has confidence in the staff and so do we. If we had any concerns we wouldn't hesitate to approach the provider or manager and have done in the past."

"I've been so impressed with the support my relative has received from all of the staff."