All inspections: Liam House - Care Quality Commission

Liam House is a care home for 10 adults with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were nine people living at the home. The unannounced inspection took place over two days on 16 and 22 September 2015. One inspector visited the home on both days.

Liam House had a 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.

In general, people were happy to be living at Liam House, although some people said they sometimes got a bit bored. One person we spoke with said, “I am happy here, it’s a good place” and a member of staff told us, “It’s a lovely house”. Another staff member said, “It’s nice to come here and support the residents”.

People told us they liked the care workers. They said they were kind and throughout the inspection we saw staff had a compassionate, kind and fun approach with the people they were supporting.

People told us they felt safe at Liam House and could talk to staff if they were worried about something. Staff had been trained in safeguarding adults and knew how to raise a concern.

People felt well supported by staff who knew what they were doing. Staff told us they were supported through training, supervision and appraisals to ensure they understood their role and knew how best to support or help people.

People told us they made their own day-to-day decisions. Staff confirmed they sought consent and promoted choice to make sure people could make their own decisions. Where people might lack capacity to make a specific decision staff acted in accordance with the 2005 Mental Capacity Act. This ensured people’s rights were protected.

People’s healthcare needs were met and staff supported people to see healthcare professionals when they needed to.

There was an activities programme in place. However, this was an area of improvement for the home to make sure people had greater opportunities to participate in a wider variety of activities, both within and outside of the home.

The home was well-led by a registered manager and deputy manager. People and staff felt listened to and said the manager acted on their suggestions to drive improvements. There were quality assurance systems in place to make sure the home offered a safe, effective, caring and responsive service.

We inspected Liam House to follow up a compliance action set at the last inspection in June 2013. We had found that the environment had not been adequately maintained and posed a health and safety risk to people.

At this inspection we talked with one individual, who was happy with their accommodation, and the manager.

We found that the service had taken steps to ensure people were cared for in an environment that was adequately maintained.

At this scheduled inspection there were eight people living at Liam House. We spoke to four people about their experiences of living at the home. We also spoke with three members of staff including the manager.

People we spoke to told us they were happy living at Liam House. Staff we spoke with said, 'It's homely', and 'Everyone is happy and that's the most important thing'.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. People had been fully involved in planning the care or support they wanted or needed.

People who use the service, staff and visitors were not fully protected against the risks of unsafe or unsuitable premises because the home had not been adequately maintained.

Liam House ensured people were able to express their views about the home, and acted on suggestions made by individuals or staff working at the home.

There was an effective complaints system and information about making a complaint was provided in a suitable format.

During this unannounced inspection we used different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service. People using the service had complex needs which meant they were not always able to tell us their experiences. Therefore, in addition to speaking with two individuals, we gathered evidence by observing care; reviewing records and speaking to three care workers and the manager.

We noted that care workers were polite and respectful. Care workers discussed their awareness of dignity and rights, and described how they maintained people's privacy.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. Care plans were person centred and regularly reviewed. A care worker told us 'we try as much as we can to support people with their independence'.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. All the care workers we spoke with told us they felt supported to undertake their role. One care worker said 'it's a lovely home', and another said 'I like my job and the people are lovely'.

The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others.

These older reports are from our old approaches to inspection, including those from before CQC was created.

Archived: Liam House

All Inspections

16 and 22 September 2015

During a routine inspection

24 January 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

21 June 2013

During a routine inspection

31 October 2012

During a routine inspection

Reports under our old system of regulation