Rushwell House is a care home that can provide care for up to eight people with a learning disability, including, mental health condition, physical disability and sensory Impairment. At the time of the inspection there were 7 people using the service.

At the last inspection on the 25 June 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

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. A new manager had been appointed since the last inspection and was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

People received safe care. Robust staff recruitment procedures were followed. The staffing levels met people’s needs. People were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

People received effective care. Staff had received appropriate training and support to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives according to their capabilities. The care people received was very individualised. People were treated with kindness, compassion, dignity and empowered to be involved in making decisions and taking control of their lives. The staff respected people’s diversity, and knew the people who used the service extremely well.

People and relatives, where appropriate, were involved in the planning of their care and support. The personalised care plans facilitated the staff to provide consistent support in line with people’s preferences. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and effective systems were in place to manage complaints.

People benefitted from using a service that had a positive, person centred ethos and an open culture. People, their relatives and staff had confidence in the manager’s ability to provide consistent high quality managerial oversight and leadership. Established quality monitoring systems were used to drive continuous improvement.

Rushwell House is a care home for up to eight people with a learning disability. There were seven people living in the home on the day of the inspection.

This inspection took place on 25 June 2015 and was unannounced.

The home has a registered manager. 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.

Staff had been trained to recognise signs of potential abuse and keep people safe. People felt safe living at the service.

Processes were in place to manage identifiable risks within the service and to ensure people did not have their freedom restricted unnecessarily.

The provider carried out recruitment checks on new staff to make sure they were suitable to work at the service.

There were systems in place to ensure people were supported to take their medicines safely and at the appropriate times.

Staff had been provided with the appropriate training to ensure people’s assessed needs were met.

People’s consent to care and support was sought in line with the current legislations. The service worked to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 key principles, which state that a person's capacity should always be assumed.

People had a choice in what they wished to eat and drink and helped in the preparation of meals.

People were registered with a GP. If required they were supported by staff to access other healthcare facilities.

Positive and caring relationships had been developed between people and staff.

Staff had a good understanding of the needs of the people they were supporting.

People received care in a dignified and respectful manner and were encouraged to maintain their independence.

Pre-admission assessments were undertaken before people came to live at the service. This was to ensure that their identified needs would be adequately met.

A complaints procedure had been developed to let people know how to raise concerns about the service if they needed to.

There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and to continuously improve on the service delivery.

People who used the service told us that they were well looked after and felt supported by care staff. During this visit we spoke with four people who used the service and three staff. A person we spoke with said, ''They encourage me to do the things I want. My care worker is going to help me choose a make up bag for my sister’s birthday.’’ Another person said, ‘’The food is good and we get plenty of it, and we get to choose what we want during our weekly residents meeting.’’ We found that people living in the home were generally happy with their care and were positive about the care staff.

We saw that people's support plans were detailed and took account of people's individual needs and how this would be supported and included planned activities that involved them to pass the time.

During this visit we found that the provider had made improvements to the surroundings and facilities at the home where people lived, and to their quality assurance programme which ensured the quality of service people received.

People who used the service told us that they were encouraged to express their views and make choices. A person we spoke with said ‘’they encourage me to be independent and respect my wishes.’’ Another person said ‘’It is good here as the carers look after me 24/7.''

We saw that people’s support plans were detailed and took account of people’s individual needs and how this would be supported and included planned activities that involved them to pass the time.

We saw that the provider needed to make improvements to the surroundings and facilities at the home where people lived. The provider’s quality assurance programme needed improvements to make sure the provider took timely actions on available information to ensure the quality of service people received.

People told us they received the help and support they needed at Rushwell House. They said staff were kind, friendly, and treated them well.