During this inspection we did not meet any of the people who use the service however, their views and experiences were reflected in our January report. We were assisted with this inspection by the deputy home manager and the area manager.
They said that they felt safe in the home and that they would speak to a member of staff if they had any worries.
Staff were knowledgeable about people's personal, behavioural, social and health needs. Staff knew the content of people's plans of care and how to put the guidelines that these plans contained into practice demonstrating they understood the care plans.
We saw that the service had taken into account the different needs of people living in the home by ensuring that information was provided in different ways. User friendly formats were used for the activities timetable and other important documentation such as the complaints procedure, service user reviews and service user guides were seen in pictorial and audio formats as well as words.
We spoke with Portsmouth Social Services Department who commission the service and they told us that they carry out regular monitoring visits to the service. They said that they were satisfied with the care and support that Eastern Road provides to the people who live there and that they have no concerns about the service.
The father of a person who uses the service told us that he was happy with the care being provided but felt that communication could be improved. He said that on occasions he had wanted to arrange to do something with his son but when he tried to arrange this he found that other arrangements had already been made. He felt that better communication could have prevented this from happening.
Another father of one person said 'I could not be happier with the service, its brilliant'. All of the family members we spoke with told us that they knew what action they should take if they had any concerns and they said that they felt that the home would respond appropriately to any concerns that may be raised.
All of the relatives of people who use the service we spoke with they told us that they had been involved in the care planning process and reviews of care for their relatives and they said that they were happy with the care being provided.
Staff told us that they would always respect people's wishes and said that people who use the service are involved in all aspects of their lives and that people are actively encouraged to express their views and opinions.
Staff members who we talked to told us that their recruitment was robust and that the people who use the service were involved in the recruitment process. They said that the training provided is very good and that they regularly attend refresher courses to maintain their knowledge, skills and competency in all aspects of supporting the people in their care.
Staff spoken with told us that the staffing levels were about right and that if they planned to go out with people to support them with activities or trips then the manager would ensure that there was sufficient staff on duty to enable this to take place.