13 Long Meadow Road is registered to accommodate one person who may have a learning disability. At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good:

People remained safe at the service. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and support them with activities and trips out. Risk assessments were completed to enable people to retain their independence. People received their medicines safely.

People continued to receive care from staff who had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. Staff were well trained and competent. 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. People's healthcare needs were monitored by the staff and people had access to a variety of healthcare professionals.

The staff were very caring and people had built strong relationships with the staff. We observed staff being patient and kind. People's privacy was respected. People or their representatives, were involved in decisions about the care and support people received.

The PIR stated; “MBF (Michael Batt Foundation) recognises the value of small consistent support teams to ensure those supporting the individual have a positive relationship and have full and detailed knowledge of the person history and needs. My Life Packs is a holistic tool which includes detailed information about how an individual wants and needs to be supported. It is a working document which forms the basis of the individual's support.”

The service remained responsive to people's individual needs and provided personalised care and support. People were able to make choices about their day to day lives. Complaints were fully investigated and responded to. One person said they saw the registered manager regularly and discussed any issues they had.

The service continued to be well led. People and staff told us the registered manager was approachable. The registered manager and provider sought people's views to make sure people were at the heart of any changes within the home. The registered manager and provider had monitoring systems which enabled them to identify good practices and areas of improvement.

Longmeadow Road provides accommodation and personal care for one person with a learning disability. There was a registered manager in place. 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. Although the service’s registered manager was not based at the home the records demonstrated they visited the service regularly and staff reported that they were well supported.

The person using the service was well cared for and relaxed and comfortable in the home. They readily approached staff when they wished to be supported and their privacy was respected. They told us, “I am quite happy” and, “They are a very good team, I try and have a laugh with them”.

Care records within the service and at the providers head office were up to date, had been regularly reviewed and accurately reflected the person’s care and support needs. The care plans known as “guidelines” were highly personalised and included sufficient information to enable staff to provided appropriate and effective support. The service’s risk assessment procedures were designed to enable people to take risks while providing appropriate protection.

Support was provided by a small, consistent, motivated and well trained staff team. The registered manager had recognised the importance of staff consistency to the person who used the service and had ensured their needs were met. Staff told us, “the manager makes sure people are constantly here as [the person’s] behaviour will change with unusual staff” and, the “manager does a good job of keeping a consistent team”.

The person was able to have unsupported time when they chose and there were appropriate arrangements in place to ensure their safety and well being.

The registered manager met with the person using the service regularly to review the care provided. The records of these meetings showed that where the person had requested changes to the service this had been appropriately addressed and action taken to the person’s satisfaction.

During our inspection we spoke to staff on duty and looked at the care records of the people who lived at the home.

Although we were able to meet the people who lived at the service the amount of time they chose to speak to us was limited. When we did get the opportunity to meet people they said that they were happy living at Longmeadow and appeared happy and relaxed with staff and their environment.

Records and discussion with staff confirmed that people were involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff respected people’s rights to make decisions and when necessary provided clear information about possible risks if support was refused.

The care records we looked at were detailed and provided staff with good information about people’s needs. One staff member we spoke to said " There is good communication between the staff team, although we don't work together we meet regularly and have a good understanding of how people need supporting".

Involvement in the local community was encouraged and people were supported to access employment opportunities when possible.

Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure the safe management of medicines kept in the home. Records confirmed that people using the service were provided with information about their medicines as well as any risks associated with them.

The service had a robust system in place to regularly monitor and review the quality of the service.

During our visit we were able to meet people who used the service and observe staff as they provided care and support.

The amount of time people using the service chose to speak to us was limited so we also spent time looking at records and speaking to staff. This helped us gain a better understanding about people’s support needs and experiences of the service.

We saw that staff treated people respectfully at all times, promoting choice and independence whenever possible. The interactions and relationships we observed were positive and helped create a homely, age appropriate environment for the people using the service.

People were involved in the planning of their care and had access to their personal information.

Care plans were detailed, however the homes reviewing process did not ensure that this information was accurate and up to date.

Staff had a good understanding of issues relating to abuse and systems were in place to ensure that any incidents of abuse were recognised, reported and acted on to keep people safe.

Sufficient staffing levels were in place and staff received a range of training opportunities to ensure they could meet people’s needs.