Anna House Post 18

Anna House Post 18 is a supported living service providing the regulated activity of personal care. The service is a supported living service and provides support to younger adults with learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service. The service is based in one premises, which is an ordinary home in a residential area.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support:

People were able to choose where they lived. The home was an ordinary house close to other residential and commercial properties, at the heart of the local community. The service was able to assess people's needs before they began living at the service, so they knew whether they could meet their needs. Staff were supported through training and supervision to gain knowledge and skills to help them in their role. People were supported to eat a balanced diet and were able to choose what they ate. People had access to health care professionals. Care plans were in place for people which set out how to meet their needs in a person-centred way. Information was provided to people in a way that was accessible to them. Systems were in place for dealing with complaints. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends, and to engage in meaningful activities.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care:

People were protected from the risk of abuse. Risk assessments had been carried out to identify the risks people faced. These included information about how to mitigate those risks. There were enough staff working at the service to meet people's needs and the provider had robust staff recruitment practices in place. Medicines were managed in a safe way. Infection control and prevention systems were in place. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to see if any lessons could be learnt from them. Relatives told us staff were caring and that they treated people with respect. Staff understood how to support people in a way that promoted their privacy, independence and dignity. The service sought to meet people's needs in relation to equality and diversity.

Right Culture:

People were at the heart of what the service did, and care was person-centred. Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. Relatives and staff told us there was an open and positive culture at the service. People were supported to express their views. The provider was aware of their legal obligations and worked with other agencies to develop best practice and share knowledge.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service had not been previously inspected and we needed to check if people received good quality and safe care.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have made 2 good practice recommendations, in relation to medicines audits and Health Action Plans.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.