Archived: Anton House - Care Home Learning Disabilities

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People's experience of using this service: People we spoke with told us they were very happy living at Anton House. People told us they were encouraged to be independent and involved in developing their care and support plans. Staff understood people’s individual communication needs and worked in proactive ways to provide person-centred support.

Staff demonstrated knowledge of how to safeguard vulnerable adults and promoted their human rights. Incidents were dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe. People were supported with their health needs, this included being supported for a specific learning disability annual health check. People were referred to other health and social care professionals when required and were supported with their emotional well-being. Staff we spoke with told us they felt supported by the provider.

People told us staff were caring, supportive and kind. We observed staff to treat people in a dignified manner and people told us they were given privacy within the home. Activities were arranged for people that suited their individual interests. Staff actively explored what other activities or community groups were available locally to ensure that people had opportunities to engage in their community.

Support plans were detailed and recorded what was important to the individual. People were involved in planning their own lives and agreeing future goals. Support plans were person-centred, meaning people were at the heart of how they wanted their care and support to be provided.

Staff told us they felt well trained and supported. The home had a consistent staff team who understood the needs of people well. We saw staff upheld and promoted people's rights relating to equality and diversity.

People, staff and visiting professionals told us they thought the home continued to be well led and spoke positively about the registered manager. The provider and registered manager carried out numerous audits to ensure the service was effective. Staff supported people to integrate into the local community and the culture of the service promoted the values of supporting people to be as independent as possible.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Rating at the last inspection: The service was rated as good and the report was published in June 2016.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

Anton House specialises in the care of people who have a learning disability. It provides accommodation for up to 4 people who require personal care. On the day of our inspection there were 4 people living at the home.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. 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.

On the day of our inspection we found that staff interacted well with people and people were cared for safely. The provider had systems and processes in place to safeguard people and staff knew how to keep people safe. Risk assessments were in place and accidents and incidents were monitored and recorded. Medicines were administered and stored safely.

The provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).If the location is a care home Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the DoLS, and to report on what we find.

We found that people’s health care needs were assessed, and care planned and delivered to meet those needs. People had access to other healthcare professionals such as a dietician and GP. Staff were kind and sensitive to people when they were providing support. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs. People were supported to pursue leisure activities and access local facilities.

Staff were aware of people’s need for privacy and dignity and made arrangements to provide this.

People were supported to eat enough to keep them healthy. People had access to drinks and snacks during the day and had choices at mealtimes. Where people had special dietary requirements we saw that these were provided for.

There were sufficient staff available to care for people appropriately. Staff were provided with training on a variety of subjects to ensure that they had the skills to meet people’s needs.

Staff felt able to raise concerns and issues with management. A process for raising concerns was in place. The provider recorded and monitored complaints.

Audits were carried out on a regular basis and action put in place to address any concerns and issues.

People told us about their lives, what they did during the day and showed us activities they were involved in. We saw that their support plans and risk assessments were person centred, reflected their needs and were up to date. Staff that we spoke with were aware of the contents of the support plans, which enabled them to deliver appropriate and safe care.

People were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent it from happening. The accommodation was appropriately designed, clean, homely and suitable to meet the needs of the people living there. There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs.

People were happy and relaxed during out visit. They told us staff always asked if they were ready to receive care. Records showed people were encouraged to be active and be part of the local community. People were able to engage in a wide range of activities.