Riverside Drive is a small care home which provides care and accommodation for up to eight adults. The service specialises in supporting people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were seven people living in the home.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in December 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service demonstrated they met the regulations and fundamental standards.

People continued to be safe at Riverside Drive. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse or harm. They followed appropriate guidance to minimise identified risks to people's health, safety and welfare. There were enough staff to keep people safe. The provider had appropriate arrangements in place to check the suitability and fitness of all staff.

The environment was clean and staff demonstrated good awareness of the importance of infection control and hygiene in the home. The premises and equipment were regularly maintained and serviced to ensure these were safe. Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

People had a personalised support plan which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff. These were reviewed regularly. Staff received training and were supported by the registered manager to help them to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff communicated with people using their preferred methods of communication. This helped them to develop good awareness and understanding of people's needs, preferences and wishes.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs. They also received the support they needed to stay healthy and to access healthcare services when needed. Staff encouraged people to participate in activities and to maintain relationships with the people that mattered to them.

Staff were caring, treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people’s privacy was maintained particularly when being supported with their personal care needs. 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.

The registered manager provided good leadership. They checked staff were focussed on people experiencing good quality care and support. People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about how the service could be improved. This was used to make changes and improvements that people wanted. The provider ensured the complaints procedure was made available in an accessible format if people wished to make a complaint. Checks and reviews of the service continued to be made by staff to ensure people experienced good quality safe care and support.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 2 December 2014 and was unannounced. At the last inspection on 24 September 2013 we found the service was meeting the regulations we looked at.

Riverside Drive is a small care home which provides accommodation for up to eight adults with complex communication needs, a learning disability and/or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were eight people living in the home. The accommodation is laid out over two floors. The first floor is accessible by lift. Each person has their own room in the home. There are communal facilities such as a lounge on each floor, a dining room, kitchen and garden.

The service had 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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Relatives told us people were safe at Riverside Drive. Staff knew how to protect people if they suspected they were at risk of abuse or harm. Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing had been assessed and staff knew how to minimise and manage these to keep people safe from harm or injury in the home and community. The home, and the equipment within it, was regularly checked to ensure it was safe. The home was clear and free of clutter to enable people to move safely around the home. There were enough suitable staff to care for and support people.

People were cared for by staff who received appropriate training and support to meet their needs. Staff felt supported by managers. There were enough staff to support people to live a full, active and independent life as possible in the home and community. We observed staff that supported people had a good understanding of their needs. They supported people in a way which was kind, caring, and respectful.

Staff supported people to keep healthy and well and people were able to access other healthcare services when needed. Medicines were stored safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were encouraged to drink and eat sufficient amounts to reduce the risk to them of malnutrition and dehydration.

Care plans were in place which reflected people’s specific needs and their individual choices and beliefs for how they lived their lives. People were appropriately supported by staff to make decisions about their care and support needs. These were reviewed with them regularly by staff.

The home was open and welcoming to visitors and relatives. People were encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them. People were also supported to undertake activities and outings of their choosing. Relatives told us they felt comfortable raising any concerns they had with staff and knew how to make a complaint if needed.

The provider regularly sought people’s and staff’s views about how the care and support they received could be improved. There were systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service that people experienced.

The service regularly involved relevant healthcare professionals in the planning and delivery of people’s care and support. This gave staff access to best practice, research and guidance to improve the quality of care people experienced.

The manager had sufficient training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to understand when an application should be made and in how to submit one. This helped to ensure people were safeguarded as required by the legislation. DoLS provides a process to make sure that people are only deprived of their liberty in a safe and correct way, when it is in their best interests and there is no other way to look after them.

The majority of people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences. We spoke with two people using the service who both said they were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. We also used other methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service. We reviewed people's records, talked to staff and observed the care provided.

We saw evidence staff knew how to obtain people’s consent before carrying out any care or support. Where people needed extra help to make decisions about their care, they had been able to choose who they wanted to help them, which was documented in their support plans. We looked at people’s records and saw current support plans were in place to meet their care and support needs. Risks to their health, safety and welfare had been identified and plans were in place to manage these.

From the records we looked at these had been reviewed and updated regularly so that staff had up to date information about people’s current care and support needs. There were enough staff to meet these needs. Medical records we looked at showed medicines were administered appropriately and stored safely in the home.

People received appropriate support from staff to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs and they were provided with a choice of food and drink.

The majority of people using the service were unable to share their views about living at Riverside Drive due to their complex needs. We were able to speak with one person using the service during our visit. We asked them what they thought of the home. They said ‘I really like it here’.

We looked at other information to see what people thought about the service. We saw from recent surveys people using the service were, overall, satisfied with the care and support they had received.

We saw from people’s records, their individual care and support needs had been assessed and care plans were in place to meet these needs.

Staff received training to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

Staff carried out regular checks within the home to make sure the environment was safe for people using the service.