This announced inspection took place on 18 September 2018. We announced the inspection to ensure people who used the service would be in during the day, as well as the registered manager to facilitate the inspection.

Park View is a care home located in Salford and accommodates up to nine adults who have mental health and acquired brain injury related conditions. At the time of the inspection there were nine people using the service. The service is located in the Seedley area of Salford and is close to local amenities and transport routes for Greater Manchester.

We last inspected Park View in January 2016, where the home was rated Good overall and for each key question we inspected against. We found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall. We have however have made two recommendations within the Safe domain of this report.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 told us they felt safe as result of the care and support they received and staff understood their responsibility with regards to safeguarding people from abuse.

Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate checks undertaken before they commenced employment, however we have made a recommendation about these could be strengthened in future.

The building was being appropriately maintained, although we have made a recommendation regarding acting on any follow up repairs in a timely way.

There were enough staff available to care for and support people safely.

People had detailed risk assessments in their support plans and the service maintained a log of any accidents and incidents which had occurred, which detailed any follow up actions taken.

Appropriate systems were in place to manage people’s medication safely.

Staff told us they received enough training, induction, supervision and appraisal to support them in their role.

People received enough to eat and drink and we found any specific dietary requirements were adhered to.

The people we spoke with told us they were happy with the care and support they received and described staff as kind and caring.

The service was meeting the requirement of the accessible information standard (AIS).

The service used the recovery star as part of people’s care and support. The recovery star is an outcomes measure which enables people to measure their own recovery, with the help of staff. People’s care plans were centred around the recovery star, so staff could monitor their progress.

Complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.

People had access to learning and development courses within the local community and these were also discussed during key worker reviews. Holidays and trips away were supported by staff if this was what people wanted to do.

There were systems in place to seek feedback from people using the service through satisfaction surveys. Residents meetings also took place for people to share their views.

A range of internal auditing systems were in place at both managerial and provider level so that the quality of service could be monitored effectively.

Policies and procedures were in place so that staff could seek advice about areas effecting their work if they needed to.

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 18 January 2016.

Park View is located in Salford and provides 24 hour support to people with mental health and learning difficulties. The home is owned by Potensial Limited and is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide care and support for up to nine people.

We carried out our last inspection of Park View in August 2013. At this inspection, we found the service was meeting all standards assessed at that time.

A new manager had started working at the service in September 2015, and was not yet registered with the Care Quality Commission. They told us their application was underway. 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 living at the home told us they felt safe. The staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures and how to report concerns.

Staff recruitment procedures were safe. We saw appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began working at the home, such as seeking written references and undertaking DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) checks.

We found people had risk assessments in their support plans detailing control measures to help keep people safe. The service encouraged positive risk taking to promote people’s independence, such as encouraging people to use public transport independently, or walking into town on their own.

We found people’s medication was given to them safely. The people we spoke with told us they received their medication at the prescribed time. We found medication was stored in a secure room and only staff involved with administration had access. People had their own individual medication administration records (MAR) which we saw were signed by staff when medication had been taken. Where people required PRN (as required) medication, there were clear guidelines for staff to follow about when this should be given.

We looked at the staff rotas to see how the service ensured there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. We found the service had sufficient skilled staff to meet people's needs, and people who lived at the home confirmed this stating there were enough staff to support them. The staff we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the current staffing levels at the home.

The staff we spoke with told us they had enough training available to them and felt well supported to undertake their work. Staff told us they undertook an induction when they first started working for the service and received regular supervision where they could discuss certain aspects of their work with their manager.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that as far as possible people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. At the time of the inspection, there was nobody living at Park View who was subject to a DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards). People were able to go out when they wanted and into the local community unaccompanied. We saw staff had received eLearning training on MCA and when questioned, staff demonstrated an understanding of circumstances in which people may be restricted of their liberty.

People said they had enough to eat and drink and were given different choices and alternatives. Where able, people, were given support by staff to prepare their own meals. We were told an evening meal was always prepared

Park View is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide support to nine people and there were six people living there on the day of our inspection. As part of our inspection we spoke with three people who used the service, two members of staff and the registered manager.

Overall, people told us they were happy living at Park View and felt well supported. Comments from people who used the service included; “It’s ok here. The staff support me well” and “We’re allowed to do as we please really” and “I like living here. My son visits me often” and “The staff are good. They prompt me to eat which is really important” and “You can have your freedom here. I need that in my life at the minute”.

During our inspection we looked at what methods were in place for people to provide consent to their care and support, and we found there were effective systems in place.

We looked at how people living at Park View received their medication and looked at the systems in place to ensure this was done safely. One person said to us;” I get my medication on time. The staff have already given me my tablets this morning actually”.

We looked at three staff member files to ensure members of staff had been recruited safely and we found appropriate checks had been made before commencing employment.

We found there were systems in place to monitor the quality of service provision effectively which included the use of audits, surveys and regular staff meetings.

Park View was well maintained and had recently been refurbished and some new furniture had been purchased.

We found that people within the home were generally happy with their care and were positive about the staff.

We found the service had recently appointed a new manager.

During the visit we spoke to five people who used the service and three staff. We saw that staff were polite and friendly and caring toward the people who used the service.

People told us: " I like it here, my room is my space". " We can come and go as we please providing we tell someone where we are going". " I'm unwell at the moment and they look after me well".

Staff told us: " It's a challenge but I enjoy it". " I love my job here".

People we spoke with said they were generally happy living at the home. Comments included; “The staff are nice and friendly.” Two of the relatives we spoke with said; “The staff are good" and "Our relative has come on really well here."

“The staff are great on the whole here, I am looked after well.” Another person said: “The staff are very supportive. I'm doing okay here.”

Some concerns were raised with us by people who use the service in relation to how the service is managed and the behaviour of some staff during this visit. These concerns have been appropriately reported and are being investigated.