About the service:

Merstone House is registered to provide accommodation for up to eight adults with complex mental health. The adapted property is detached and provides three flats, and four bedrooms with en-suites. There is also a self-contained flat at the rear of the property. At the time of our visit there were seven people who were supported at Merstone House.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service provided by the registered manager and the staff at Merstone House was highly effective at supporting people to achieve their goals.

The service was praised by people they supported and by visiting professionals. People praised the ways in which the quality of their life had improved since they had moved to Merstone House. We were repeatedly told staff made a difference and promoted a good quality of life for people.

People’s care and support had been planned proactively and in partnership with them. People felt consulted and listened to about how their care would be delivered. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People supported by the service consistently told us staff were polite, reliable, caring and professional in their approach to their work.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice. The registered manager took a person-centred and holistic approach to meet the health needs of people who they supported. This had resulted in positive outcomes for people. Risk was actively and proactively managed to keep people safe from harm.

The registered provider and the registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. This enabled Merstone House to be monitored and improve areas that were identified through their quality monitoring processes.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people. We found any concerns raised had been resolved to a satisfactory conclusion and in a timely approach.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first planned inspection of the service since its registration with CQC on 09 May 2017.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned and scheduled inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.