This inspection took place on 2 November 2015 and was unannounced. This was the first time we have inspected the service.
Hampton Road is a residential home which provides support to people who have learning disabilities. It provides an enablement service to help people learn life skills such as managing their medication and personal care to enable them to live more independently in the community. The service is registered with the Commission to provide personal care for up to four people and at the time of our inspection there were four people using the service. There was a registered manager at this location. 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.
People were kept safe by staff who were confident to whistle blow if they felt someone was at risk of harm. People were able to express if they felt unsafe and staff constantly asked people if they required support and provided reassurance when necessary.
People had their needs and requests responded to promptly. All the people and staff we spoke with told us that there were enough staff to meet people’s care needs. Several new members of staff were undergoing an induction process.
Medication was managed safely. People were supported to manage their own medicines when appropriate and could tell us how they took their medication safely. The registered manager conducted regular audits and we saw that any errors had been dealt with appropriately.
People were supported by staff who had received regular training and supervisions to maintain their skills and knowledge. Staff could explain the actions they would take if people suddenly became unwell. This meant that people received the care they required to keep them well.
People’s rights to receive care in line with their wishes were upheld as they were supported in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). When people were thought to lack mental capacity the provider had taken the appropriate action to ensure their care did not restrict their movement and rights.
People who used the service told us they enjoyed the food they were supported to prepare. There was a wide choice of food available and people could choose what they wanted to eat. Meal times were promoted as social events with people who used the service and staff sitting down together.
People had developed caring relationships with the staff who supported them and staff were keen to undertake tasks they knew made people happy. People were supported by staff to take part in tasks around the home to promote their independence and keep their environment how they wanted.
People felt that concerns would be sorted out quickly without the need to resort to the formal complaints process. Records showed that any issues were dealt with appropriately and to their satisfaction.
The service encouraged people to comment on how the service operated and to be involved in directing how their care was provided and developed.
The registered manager had obtained and shared examples of good practice from within the organisation. They also attended regular meetings in order to share and learn from the experience of their peers from other homes. This helped to ensure the service continued to develop.
The service had a clear leadership structure which staff understood. Staff told us and records showed that they had annual appraisals and regular supervisions to identify how they could best improve the care people received.
There were processes for monitoring and improving the quality of the care people received. The provider conducted regular audits and we saw that action plans had been put in place when it was identified improvements were needed.