This inspection took place on 29 November 2018 and was unannounced. At the last inspection completed on 31 March 2018 we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the service remains rated as Good.

SENSE - 11 Station Road is a Residential Care Home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

SENSE - 11 Station Road accommodates up to nine people in one adapted building, where people had access to communal areas along with their own individual flats. At the time of the inspection there were seven people using the service.

Registering the Right Support has values which include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. This is to ensure people with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. The home was meeting the principles of this policy.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 were safeguarded from abuse and risks were assessed and planned for to keep people safe. People were supported by sufficient safely recruited staff. People’s medicines were administered as prescribed. People were protected from the risk of cross infection. The provider learned when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed and they had plans in place to meet those needs. Staff had access to training and ongoing development and were supported in their role. People were supported to live in an environment which had adaptations which were suitable to meet their needs.

People received consistent support from staff. People could choose their meals and were supported to eat and drink safely. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being.

People had choice and control of their lives and staff were aware of how to support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service were supportive of this practice.

People were supported by staff that were caring and they had good relationships with staff. People were supported to make choices about their care and staff promoted people’s independence. People’s communication needs were assessed and planned for with specific tools in place to support people. People had their privacy and dignity protected by staff.

People’s preferences were understood by staff and they received person centred care and support. People had access to a range of activities and were supported follow their interests. People and relatives understood how to make a complaint and these were responded to. Nobody was receiving end of life care so this was not considered.

Notifications were submitted as required and the manager understood their responsibilities. People and their relatives were engaged in the service and felt able to approach the registered manager. Staff felt supported in their role and were involved in the service. Quality audits were in place and were used to drive improvement.

This inspection took place on 31 March 2016 and was unannounced. When we last inspected this service in December 2013 we found it compliant with all the regulations we looked at.

11 Station Road is a residential home which provides support to people who have learning disabilities and a sensory impairment. The service is registered with the Commission to provide personal care for up to nine people. Eight people lived at the home when we visited. People lived in individual flats which accommodated one or two people. People in this home were unable to tell us verbally about the care that they received so we observed how care was provided to people.

There was a registered manager at this location but they had recently taken up a temporary position of area 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. An acting manager had been appointed to manage the home during the registered manager’s absence and both were at the home when we visited.

People were kept safe from the risk of harm. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and who to raise concerns with. People had assessments which identified actions staff needed to take to protect people from risks associated with their specific conditions.

People were protected from possible errors in relation to their medication because the arrangements for the storage, administration and recording of medication were good and there were robust systems for checking that medication had been administered in the correct way.

Staff were available to keep people safe and there were usually enough staff to allow care and support to be provided flexibly and to consistently meet all people's needs. Recently there had been some reliance on the use of agency staff at night times. The registered provider was taking action to recruit to vacant posts so that people would be supported by consistent staff who knew them well.

Staff were appropriately trained, skilled and supervised and they received opportunities to further develop their skills. Staff knew people’s different methods of communication and understood their preferences. Relatives informed us that they thought the staff were caring and that their family member was happy living at the home. People appeared relaxed and comfortable whilst interacting with staff. People were involved in a range of leisure activities in the community, some individual to them and some in small groups.

People were supported to make choices and we saw that consent was gained from people before staff assisted them. Staff understood how to support people in line with the Mental Capacity Act (2005). Some people living at the home had authorisations in place to deprive them of their liberty. Staff supported people in line with these authorisations.

People were supported to have their mental and physical healthcare needs met and were encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The manager sought and took advice from relevant health professionals when needed. People were provided with a good choice of food in sufficient quantities and were supported to eat meals which met their nutritional needs and suited their preferences.

People, and those close to them, were involved in planning and reviewing their care and support. There was a close relationship and good communication with people's relatives. Relatives felt their views were listened to and acted on. Relatives knew how to raise any complaints they had and were confident staff would take action if this happened.

Checks were undertaken on the quality of the care provided by the registered manager and provider and actions were taken where developments had been highlighted. The registered manager and provider made sure there wa

At the time of our last inspection of Sense Station Road in November 2013 we were concerned that action was needed to improve the safety of the windows at the home.

This visit was to check that action had been taken to make the windows safe. During our visit we spoke with senior staff and undertook a tour of the first floor of the home. People who lived at Station Road had sensory impairments and learning disabilities and were unable to tell us about their experiences due to their communication difficulties.

We found that since our last visit the appropriate action had been taken to make sure the windows in the home did not pose a risk to people living there.

People who lived at Station Road had sensory impairments and learning disabilities and were unable to tell us about their experiences due to their communication difficulties. We watched staff provide care and support that met people's needs.

Care staff supported people in a sensitive way using differing methods of communication to ensure that people understood what was going to happen. We looked at three people's care records and found that these contained guidance for staff on how to meet people's needs. We saw that people's needs had been reviewed regularly.

We spoke with the relatives of three people who lived at the home. They told us they were very happy with care that was being provided. Relatives told us that they had been involved in planning their son's or daughter's care. One relative told us, “I’m extremely happy. They provide excellent care.”

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

We found that staff knew about the needs of the people they cared for. We found staff were trained and supported to deliver care safely and to an appropriate standard.

Action was needed to ensure that the environment was safe for people.

There were eight people living at the home on the day of our visit. The provider did not know we were coming.

Most people using the service were not able to share their views of the service. We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experience of people using the service. We spoke with one person at the home with assistance from a member of staff. After our visit we spoke with four relatives of people who lived at the home and one care professionals.

Every one we spoke with was complimentary about the home. People told us that they were happy with the care provided. One relative told us, ‘’I think the home is wonderful.’’

We saw that care staff were respectful to the people living in the home. Staff engaged with people to help them take part in activities. One relative told us, ‘’Staff are very pro-active, they are always trying out new activities with people.’’

Staff understood the importance of respecting people's choices and personal preferences. They offered them choices of what they wanted to do and people looked happy.

We found that most people who lived at the home did not use verbal communication as their main method of communication. We saw staff communicating with people in a variety of ways, including signing. Care staff told us they received training on communicating with people. Information in people’s care plans about their preferred method of communication was very detailed. One relative told us, ‘’Staff know her needs and communicate amazingly well.’’