Lower St Helens 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.

Lower St Helens provide accommodation and personal care and support for up to four adults who have learning disabilities. There were four people living in the home at the time of our inspection.

At the last inspection on 24 September 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a friendly atmosphere in the home and staff supported people in a kind and caring way that took account of their individual needs and preferences. People and their families were supported to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their care and support.

There were systems and processes in place to protect people from harm, including how medicines were managed. Staff were trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the management team.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in the home. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s needs.

Staff were supported to provide appropriate care to people because they were trained, supervised and appraised. There was an induction, training and development programme, which supported staff to gain relevant knowledge and skills.

People were supported to have 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.

People received regular and on-going health checks and support to attend appointments. They were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and to make informed choices about what they ate.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and staff listened to what they said. Staff were prompt to raise issues about people’s health and people were referred to health professionals when needed. People could be confident that any concerns or complaints they raised would be dealt with.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the service. There were a range of systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service and to ensure people were receiving appropriate support.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection visit took place on 24 September 2015 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of Lower St Helens since the current provider took over the running of the service in July 2014.

Lower St Helens is a care home providing accommodation, personal care and support for up to four adults who have learning disabilities. There were four people living in the home at the time of our inspection.

The service had a manager in post who was in the process of becoming 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Due to their difficulties communicating verbally, we were not able to seek everyone’s views about the care and support they personally received. A relatives told us they felt the service provided safe care and support. There were systems and processes in place to protect people from harm, including how medicines were managed. Staff were trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the management team.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in the home. There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

Staff were supported to provide appropriate care to people because they were trained, supervised and appraised. There was an induction, training and development programme, which supported staff to gain relevant knowledge and skills.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which apply to care homes. Where people’s liberty or freedoms were at risk of being restricted, the proper authorisations were in place or had been applied for.

People received regular and on-going health checks and support to attend appointments. They were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and to make informed choices about what they ate.

The atmosphere in the home was friendly, calm and caring. The staff spoke about people in a respectful manner and demonstrated understanding of their individual needs.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and staff listened to what they said. Staff were prompt to raise issues about people’s health and people were referred to health professionals when needed. Concerns or complaints were responded to appropriately.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the service, which encouraged people’s involvement and their feedback was used to drive improvements. There were a range of systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service and to ensure people were receiving appropriate support.