This inspection took place on 19 and 25 July 2018 and was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day. At the last inspection in June 2017 we rated the service as Requires Improvement. At that inspection we found the provider was in breach of Regulation12, safe care and treatment of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key question Safe to at least good. During this inspection we found improvements had been made and medicines were now overall, managed safely. Improvements were needed to ensure safe storage of medicines during hot weather conditions and these were in the process of being addressed.

Kirkside Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Kirkside Lodge is a service for eight people, divided over four apartments and providing support to adults with a learning disability and/ or autism spectrum disorder. The service supports people between the ages of 18 and 65.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was no registered manager as they had very recently left the service. 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. A new manager had been appointed and had applied to the CQC to become the registered manager.

People and their relatives told us they or their family member felt safe. Staff understood how to keep people safe and told us any potential risks were identified and managed. Risk assessments contained enough detail to enable staff to keep people safe from harm. Risk assessments were reviewed regularly, and any changes were incorporated into people's support plans.

Safeguarding procedures and policies were in place. Staff and the management team were aware of their responsibilities to identify and report any allegations of abuse to the local authority. Staff had received safeguarding training.

Staff were recruited safely and were deployed in suitable numbers to meet people’s assessed needs. Staff and people who used the service told us there were enough staff available to meet the needs of people and support them with any activities.

People received care from staff who had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. All staff had completed a range of training and new staff completed the Care Certificate (a nationally recognised training course for staff new to care). Staff said they enjoyed working for the service. They were motivated and committed to providing a service that was personalised to each individual.

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. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to seek people's consent prior to care and support being provided. The service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People’s health was monitored by the staff and they had access to a variety of healthcare professionals. This helped ensure people's healthcare needs were met. People's nutritional needs were met. People told us they e

This inspection took place on 1 June 2017 and was unannounced. At the last inspection in February 2015 we rated the service as good. At the last inspection we found the provider was not in breach of regulation although we did report that when actions points were identified through auditing systems it was sometimes unclear if the identified improvements had been made. At this inspection we found they had effective action planning in place. However, we found medicines were not managed safely.

Kirkside Lodge is a service for eight people, divided over four apartments and providing support to adults with learning disabilities and complex needs. Located in Kirkstall, Leeds, the home is within close proximity to local services and amenities, including major transport links. At the time of this inspection eight people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager although they were not generally involved in the day to day running of the service. A manager had been in post for four weeks and told us they would be submitting a registered manager’s application and had a meeting planned to discuss this with their line manager. 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 told us they felt safe and if ever they felt concerned or worried they would talk to staff or a member of the management team. Risks to people had been identified, assessed and managed through the support planning process. Within people’s support plans there was guidance around the use of restraint and in the event of restraint being used clear records were maintained which were then reported to senior managers. We saw people lived in a safe environment and facilities enabled independent living. Some areas of the service needed decorating and some furniture and fittings were damaged. The issues had been escalated to senior managers and were being addressed. Staffing arrangements exceeded the contracted hours, however, some people’s one to one allocated hours were not clearly evidenced so it was not clear they always received this.

Staff told us they felt supported by colleagues and the management team. They said the quality of training was good and covered areas that were relevant to their role. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support. Where people lacked capacity best interest decisions were made. People told us they enjoyed the meals and were asked what they wanted to include on the menu. New menus were being introduced, which were going to offer more lunch options. People we spoke with said they were happy with the support they received to help make sure they stayed healthy. They had health action plans and hospital passports. It was not clear that everyone had attended appointments that covered their general health needs such as dental and optician because some information had been archived. The manager agreed to review the archiving arrangements to ensure a record of appointments was readily available.

People told us they were happy living at Kirkside Lodge and were well cared for. Staff told us people were well cared for and the service was person focussed. They said good systems were in place to make sure people’s history, preferences and goals were understood and we saw evidence that confirmed this. During the inspection we observed people were comfortable in their environment and there were sufficient communal facilities to ensure people had adequate space and their privacy was respected. Information was displayed to help keep people informed.

People told us they chatted to their key workers about the support they wanted. We found support plans were detailed and contained clear information which guided staff around

This was an unannounced inspection carried out on the 27 February 2015. There has not been a previous inspection as the service was registered in November 2014.

Kirkside Lodge is a service for eight people, divided over four apartments and providing support to adults with learning disabilities and complex needs. Located in Kirkstall, Leeds, the home is within close proximity to local services and amenities, including major transport links.

At the time of this inspection there was a manager in post but they were not yet registered. 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. A manager had been recently appointed; they told us they would be submitting their application for registration to CQC shortly.

There were good systems in place to ensure people’s safety and manage risks to people who used the service. Staff could describe the procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse and unnecessary harm. Recruitment practices were robust and thorough. Appropriate arrangements were in place to manage the medicines of people who used the service.

People were cared for by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff. We saw staff received the training and support required to meet people’s needs well. People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. People had detailed person centred care plans in place which described all aspects of their support needs.

Staff were trained in the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005), and could describe how people were supported to make decisions to enhance their capacity and where people did not have the capacity, decisions were made in their best interests.

Health, care and support needs were assessed and met by regular contact with health professionals. People were supported by staff who treated them with kindness and were respectful of their privacy and dignity.

People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and were able to choose where they spent their time.

Staff were aware of how to support people to raise concerns and complaints and we saw the provider learnt from complaints and suggestions and made improvements to the service.

Systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service were not always effective. The records we looked at did not show evidence that improvements identified through audit were always completed.