We inspected this service on 8 December 2016. This was an unannounced inspection. At our previous inspection in March 2016, we found that the provider was in breach of some of the legal requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The service was rated as ‘requires improvement’ overall. After our last inspection, the provider sent us an action plan showing how they would make the required improvements.The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 12 people. People who use the service have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection 10 people were using the service. However, one of these 10 people was receiving inpatient care at a local hospital.
The service had 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At this inspection, we found that some improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of the legal requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. However, further improvements were still needed to ensure people’ received care that was consistently safe and well-led.
Improvements were needed to ensure medicines were managed safely and that risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and planned for.
Improvements were also needed to ensure the systems in place to assess, monitor and improve quality were effective.
People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Safe staffing levels were maintained to promote people’s safety and to ensure people participated in activities of their choosing.
Staff received regular training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.
Staff supported people to make decisions about their care and when people were unable to make these decisions for themselves, the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were followed.
People could eat meals that met their individual preferences. People’s health and wellbeing needs were monitored and people were supported to attend both urgent and routine health appointments as required.
Staff knew people well which meant they could interact with them positively and effectively. People were treated with kindness and respect and staff promoted people’s independence, dignity and right to privacy.
People were involved in the assessment and review of their care and staff supported and encouraged people to access the community and participate in activities that met their personal preferences.
People knew how to complain about their care and staff supported people to share concerns about their care. Feedback from people was sought to enable the provider to identify if improvements to care were needed.
Advice was sought from external agencies to monitor the quality of care and recommendations from these agencies were followed to improve care delivery.
The registered manager understood the requirements of their registration with us and they and the provider kept up to date with changes in health and social care regulation.