This was an unannounced inspection, carried out on 31 August 2017. The service was last inspected in August 2015 when it was rated as 'Good'. At this inspection we found the service remained 'Good'.

The Pines provides accommodation for up to three people with complex needs. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

We saw that people were relaxed, engaged in their own choice of activities and appeared to be happy and well supported by the service. One person told us they were happy and felt safe living at The Pines. Comments included; “I like living here” and “I’m happy.” Relatives of people who lived at The Pines told us, “My thoughts regarding the care my [relative] is that they are receiving very good care and I am entirely positive about the Pines. I believe staff are well trained and they have a competent team. My [relative has thrived since moving to The Pines. I have no concerns with this placement at all.”

We walked around the service and saw it was comfortable and personalised to reflect people’s individual tastes. People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff demonstrated they had an excellent knowledge of the people they supported and were able to appropriately support people without limiting their independence. Staff consistently spent time speaking with the people they were supporting. We saw many positive interactions and people enjoyed talking to and interacting with staff. One staff member said, “I love my job. I’ve come to this work from an entirely different sector and I get so much pleasure from working here. I get a great sense of achievement by supporting the people who live here to live happy lives.”

People had regular routine access to visiting health and social care professionals where necessary. People attended an annual health check with a GP and had access to specialist medical services to ensure their health needs were met. Professionals told us there was appropriate communication between the service and medical services. Comments included, “Communication was always good and staff were happy to listen and respond to any suggestions. I rate this service as excellent” and “I always found staff to be really helpful and skilled.”

We saw clear guidance for staff about how they were to meet people’s needs so that they worked in collaboration. Staff responded to people’s changing health needs and sought the appropriate guidance and care from healthcare professionals when required.

Medicines were managed safely to ensure people received them in accordance with their health needs and the prescriber’s instructions.

Staff were well supported through a system of induction and training. Staff told us the training was thorough and gave them confidence to carry out their role effectively. The staff team were supportive of each other and worked together to support people. Staffing levels met the present care needs of the people that lived at the service.

The service was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). 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 had a choice of how they spent their time and the activities they undertook. Meals, snacks and drinks were chosen by people, which we saw they enjoyed. People had been included in planning their own menus and their feedback about the meals in the service had been listened to and acted on. Some people were actively involved in meal preparation.

Visitors told us they were always made welcome and were able to visit at any time. People were able to see their visitors privately if they wanted to. Relatives of people who used the service commented, “I have nothing but praise for the service. My [relative] is very happy living there and I am made very welcome when I vi

This was an unannounced inspection, carried out on 11 September 2015. There was a registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. The Pines provides accommodation for up to three people with complex needs. The service is made up of three flats. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

Due to people’s communication needs we were unable to gain some of their views about the service and therefore we observed staff interactions and spoke with two people who lived there. We observed that people were relaxed, engaged in their own choice of activities and appeared to be happy and well supported by the service. One person told us they were happy and felt safe living at The Pines. We walked around the service and saw it was comfortable and personalised to reflect people’s individual tastes. People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff demonstrated they had excellent knowledge of the people they supported and were able to appropriately support people without limiting their independence. Staff consistently spent time speaking with the people they were supporting. We saw many positive interactions and people enjoyed talking to and interacting with staff. One staff member said, “I love working here. It’s very much centred around the people who live here and supporting them to have the very best life possible”.

Staff were trained and competent to provide the support individuals required by a through a system of induction and training. Staff told us training was thorough and gave them confidence to carry out their role effectively. The staff team were supportive of each other and worked together to support people. Staffing levels met the present care needs of the people that lived at the service.

Where people did not have the capacity to make certain decisions, the service acted in accordance with legal requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People chose their own meals, snacks and drinks and were involved in planning their own menus. Feedback about the meals at the service had been listened to and acted on. Some people were actively involved in meal preparation.

Visitors told us they were always made welcome and were able to visit at any time. People were able to see their visitors privately in their own flats. One relative of a person who used the service commented, “I’m absolutely delighted with the service. In my experience it is head and shoulders above any other service we have experienced in the past”.

People knew how to complain and we saw people had regular feedback opportunities to discuss how they felt about the service. Each person had a key-worker who checked regularly if people were happy or wanted to raise any concerns. One relative told us, “I have no concerns. (Person) has flourished while at The Pines, it is very clear to see how happy (person) is”.

From discussions with relatives and documents we looked at, we saw families were included in planning and agreeing to the care provided at the service. People had individual support plans, detailing the support they needed and how they wanted this to be provided. Staff reviewed plans at least monthly with input from the person who was supported.

Staff demonstrated they knew the people they were supporting, the choices they had made about their support and how they wished to live their lives. For example, staff told us about one person they supported who loved swimming and the service had made specific arrangements to support the person to do this in both local facilities and also in the sea.

We saw evidence that comprehensive quality assurance processes were regularly undertaken to ensure the service was aware of people’s views of the service and could monitor auditing processes at the service. This helped to ensure an open service culture that was open to challenge and learning from issues as they affected the quality of the service.