This unannounced inspection took place on 31 January 2017. Kirkstall Lodge provides accommodation and personal care to up to six people with a learning disability. On the day of the inspection, four people were using the service.

At our previous inspection of 18 November 2015, we found the service was in breach of one regulation of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2010. This was in relation to staff who had not always received appropriate support to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Kirkstall Lodge’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection on 31 January 2017 to follow up on the breach and to check that the service now met the legal requirements. At this inspection, we found the service had taken sufficient action and addressed the breach.

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.

People received safe care and support at the service. Appropriate procedures were in place to protect people from harm and abuse and staff knew how to follow them. Risk assessments were carried out on people’s health and contained guidance for staff on how to support them safely. Recruitment processes were robust to ensure people received support from staff suitable for their role. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs.

People received the support they required with their medicines. Staff followed the provider’s procedures to ensure medicines were administered and managed correctly.

People were supported by staff who received training, supervision and support to help them undertake their role. Staff understood people's needs and provided them with the care and support they needed.

People received sufficient food and drink and the support they required with their eating. People accessed health and social care professionals when required.

Staff understood and supported people in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People gave consent to care and treatment. Those who were unable to make decisions about their own care received appropriate support to do so.

People were happy with the care they received. They had good relationships with staff and were treated with dignity and respect. Staff interactions with people were positive and caring.

People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy about their care and had access to the complaints procedure. The registered manager regularly sought people’s views about the service and acted on their feedback.

The registered manager was approachable. There was an open and transparent culture at the service. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. The provider and registered manager checked and monitored the quality of care and support and made improvements when necessary.

This unannounced inspection took place on 31 January 2017. Kirkstall Lodge provides accommodation and personal care to up to six people with a learning disability. On the day of the inspection, four people were using the service.

At our previous inspection of 18 November 2015, we found the service was in breach of one regulation of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2010. This was in relation to staff who had not always received appropriate support to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Kirkstall Lodge’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We undertook a comprehensive inspection on 31 January 2017 to follow up on the breach and to check that the service now met the legal requirements. At this inspection, we found the service had taken sufficient action and addressed the breach.

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.

People received safe care and support at the service. Appropriate procedures were in place to protect people from harm and abuse and staff knew how to follow them. Risk assessments were carried out on people’s health and contained guidance for staff on how to support them safely. Recruitment processes were robust to ensure people received support from staff suitable for their role. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs.

People received the support they required with their medicines. Staff followed the provider’s procedures to ensure medicines were administered and managed correctly.

People were supported by staff who received training, supervision and support to help them undertake their role. Staff understood people's needs and provided them with the care and support they needed.

People received sufficient food and drink and the support they required with their eating. People accessed health and social care professionals when required.

Staff understood and supported people in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People gave consent to care and treatment. Those who were unable to make decisions about their own care received appropriate support to do so.

People were happy with the care they received. They had good relationships with staff and were treated with dignity and respect. Staff interactions with people were positive and caring.

People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy about their care and had access to the complaints procedure. The registered manager regularly sought people’s views about the service and acted on their feedback.

The registered manager was approachable. There was an open and transparent culture at the service. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. The provider and registered manager checked and monitored the quality of care and support and made improvements when necessary.

People using the service told us they enjoyed the activities at Kirkstall Lodge. Their comments to us included, "My keyworker is a good friend. We go out shopping and buy my toiletries and to the park to play football" and “I like going to the music group".

We found that people had regular opportunities to meet with staff and make decisions about their individual support arrangements and how Kirkstall Lodge was run.

Staff tried to ensure that documents were accessible for people with a learning disability by using symbols, pictures and photographs. We saw that staff understood the way that each individual communicated, and understood their support needs. We saw staff providing people with the assistance and support that each individual needed; encouraging people to be as independent as they were able. There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

Peoples healthcare needs were monitored well.

People told us they enjoyed the meals that were provided. Staff knew people's dietary likes and dislikes and their cultural, religious and dietary needs.

We also found that the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

At our inspection we spoke with all five people who were using the service. They told us, "I like living here, I feel safe" and "I like my room".

We spoke with three health and social care professionals who visited Kirkstall Lodge regularly. We were told that the service provided good care and that people always looked happy when they visited.

Staff supported people to attend their healthcare appointments and to maintain their physical health.

We found that people’s social care needs were not always taken into account, and there had been times when there had been insufficient staff available to support people in doing their planned activities. This had been addressed by the registered provider who had recruited more support staff and made changes to the staff rota so that more staff were available at peak activity times.

We met the majority of people who live at the home. They appeared happy and relaxed. Some of them told us about things they liked doing and they said that they liked the staff. We saw that the staff treated people with respect and offered them choices.

The staff told us that they were well supported and happy working at the home.

We found that the service was run in an organised way. There were systems to check the quality and safety of the service. We saw records of clear staff communication and information for staff. There was information about individual needs and how the staff were trained to meet these needs. The manager is employed to oversee another home as well as Kirkstall Lodge. They told us that senior staff supported them to make sure the home was appropriately managed at all times.