Archived: Mereside Residential Home for People with Learning Disabilities

The service is family run home for a maximum of 15 people who have learning disabilities and/or autism. At the time of our visit, there were 14 people who lived in the home. The provider was also the 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe living at Mereside. Staff understood how to protect people from harm, and provided good support to reduce identified risks. There were enough staff available to meet people's needs, and staff recruitment procedures meant staff did not work at the home unless robust checks had been undertaken.

People and staff got on well with each other. People and relatives thought staff were very supportive and caring. People's privacy and dignity was upheld, and staff respected people's wishes. Family and friends were welcomed to visit the home at any time.

People enjoyed their meals and the choices available to them. They were encouraged to be involved, when possible, in the preparation and cooking of food.

Staff received training and support to provide effective care for people. Medicines were managed safely and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were in place where required.

People were encouraged to be as independent as they could be, and were supported to be involved in work and leisure activities that suited their needs. People were involved in decisions about their care and support. Care and support records provided good information about people's needs, likes and dislikes.

People, relatives and staff thought the management of the home were approachable and responsive to their needs. They could informally or formally approach management with concerns or issues for discussion. No formal complaints had been made.

There were effective management systems to assure people were safe and quality care was provided.

Each person had a personalised care plan which provided staff with information about how they were to assist people in areas where a need for support had been identified. Staff had a good knowledge of the people they were supporting. A visiting relative we spoke with told us they were happy with the care their family member received, saying, 'Tom (the manager) and the staff are amazing.'

We saw staff talking with people in a friendly, familiar and respectful manner. People appeared comfortable and at ease with staff. Staff we spoke with understood the importance of ensuring they had people's consent before providing care and support.

We were satisfied medicines were handled appropriately and people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were processes in place to safely recruit staff and provide staff with the training and support to meet the care needs of people.

There were monitoring processes in place to check the quality of service provided. We saw there had been a relative's survey completed in February 2013. The responses had been positive about the care and support people received.

There was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere within the home. On the day of our visit, all but two people attended either a day centre, work placement or college. Some people told us they were attending another activity outside the home that evening.

We saw that people had care plans in place detailing their care needs and how staff were to support them. Risk assessments had been completed and control measures put in place to minimise any risks to people's health and wellbeing.

During our visit we observed that there appeared to be sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet people's needs. There was a stable staff team with varying levels of staff experience.

Staff we spoke with were aware of their responsibilities to keep people safe.

The service had a complaints policy. We saw that complaints were taken seriously and responded to appropriately within set timescales.