We spoke to three people who lived in the house and we saw that the people using the service were relaxed and happy. They told us that they were treated with respect by the staff and that they were able to choose how they spent their time. For example, they could choose what time they went to bed. They said that they were encouraged and helped to do the sorts of things that they liked doing as well as to undertake tasks around the house like helping keep their rooms and communal areas tidy. One person told us 'I like living here. I have my own space and these are all my friends'. Some people using the service had benefited from specific arrangements to accommodate their preferences. A small separate room had been created for one person who preferred a quiet space and a lounge had been created where two people using the service could go and play music. This showed that the service had responded to the issues raised by people living at the house.
We observed the way that support workers interacted with the people who lived in the house. We saw that the relationship was friendly and relaxed.
People who used the service told us that they were given advice about healthy eating by staff and that staff supported them while they were shopping for their groceries. They knew that the staff were being helpful but they also knew that, ultimately, they were able to spend their money as they wished. We saw that the majority of food purchased for the people who lived at the home to prepare their own dinners promoted healthy eating. One person using the service wanted to lose weight .They told us that they had been supported by staff to do this. This showed that the staff were encouraging people to eat well but that they also respected their independence and decision making.
We spoke to two support workers. They told us that they had received information about encouraging people to adopt healthy diets. Staff knew the individual nutritional needs of people living in the house and told us that they encouraged healthy eating and portion control.
One person we spoke to was visiting the home to support a person who lived in the home. They said that the atmosphere was warm, friendly and relaxed and had improved in recent years.
We spoke to most of the people using the service and to three people in detail. They told us that they felt safe and that they knew how to complain if they had a problem and gave us an example of this from their own experiences.
We were told that there were occasional disagreements between people who living in the house. We saw from records that these were recorded appropriately as incidents or accidents and appropriate action taken.
The service had a well structured system for recording training and identifying the required dates for additional or refresher training. We saw records that showed that all staff in the service had had recent safeguarding training provided by Mencap.
We looked at staff training records and spoke to two support workers. Staff told us that they were aware of the procedures regarding safeguarding and where they were kept in the house. They told us that they had undertaken recent training through the Mencap scheme. The staff that we spoke to were confident and knowledgeable about how to make a complaint through the line management process or through the whistle blowing route.
The service had a well established annual questionnaire in place. People who use the service were supported in completing this document by staff from an independent day care centre. The questionnaires were filed but no action had been taken to bring the issues that had been raised in the survey process together to identify themes and trends. Specific issues relating to the individual care of people who used the service had been addressed and recorded.