We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Lulworth on 22 May 2018.

Lulworth is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Lulworth is registered to provide accommodation for people requiring personal care for up to 16 people and younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health support needs.

People lived in two separate buildings in the premises of the service; a larger building named Lulworth and a smaller annex called Blake. At the time of the inspection there were 16 people in total living at Lulworth. 11 people lived in Lulworth and five people lived in Blake.

Lulworth 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 this service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service had 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.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in June 2017.

People told us they thought the service was safe. One person said, “I feel very safe here”. A relative told us, “It is a safe place, environmentally and with the quality and availability of staff.” There were systems and processes in place to keep people safe from abuse. People and staff knew how to recognise abuse situations and know what they could do, or who they could speak with, to get help to prevent this.

Safeguarding and accident and incidents were reviewed internally and the service shared information and worked in partnership with relevant health and social care agencies following any incidents. This helped staff and people to learn and put in place actions to prevent these situations occur and to keep people as safe as possible.

People had risk assessments in place that identified any potential hazards to their well-being. Actions were in place to help people and staff manage the risk safely and positively, in the least restrictive way. Systems and processes were in place to ensure medicines were safely and properly managed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and there were safe recruitment practices help prevent unsuitable staff from working at the service.

The service was clean and hygienic and risks to people from infection were well managed. The premises and equipment used in the service was safe and well maintained. There were regular fire alarm tests and fire drills. People had Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in place so staff knew how to support them safely in the event of a fire.

People told us that the service was effective. A relative told us, “The staff are brilliant” and the service met their family member’s needs very well. We found people had support to achieve good outcomes and quality of life.

Assessments of people’s physical, psychological and social needs took place and people’s needs were regularly reviewed. This holistic process helped staff know how support people to achieve their support outcomes in all areas of their lives and have a good, well-rounded quality of life.

The provider was committed to promoting inclusion and supporting people with a learning disability to overcome any social prejudice that could act as a barrier to them achieving their chosen outcomes. S