People we spoke to said they had been involved in devising their care support plans and are regularly consulted about the care they receive. They told us staff treat them with respect and maintain their privacy and dignity.People have their views and preferences taken into consideration in the way the service is provided. People told us 'I enjoy living here, its good' and another, 'I like the staff and the people I live with'. On the day we visited residents were seen relaxing in the communal areas and watching the television in both lounges. We observed staff interacting and communicating with people. The interactions were unhurried, friendly, and professional. People told us that there was enough staff to support them to do the things they like to do. On the day of our visit two people with support staff had gone to the West Midlands Safari Park.
People who live in the home were observed to be relaxed and had free access to all communal rooms including the kitchen and staff office.
People told us they are involved in the planning, shopping and cooking of food. One person said 'I like the food we have, we can choose what we want,' another said ' I like it when we have a takeaway'.
People we spoke to said staff treated them well and listened to what they said. Staff told us they would have no hesitation reporting poor practice to the managers.
People who live in the home give their consent for staff to administer their medication, and support plans clearly state the medication prescribed and any possible side effects.
People told us they have house meetings where they discuss issue relating to shared living, and have individual key workers who make sure their individual support plans are reviewed and up to date.
People we spoke to knew who they would talk to if they were unhappy with anything, we were told 'I would speak to the manager', of ' I'd tell a member of staff'. People said they felt sure the staff would listen to any concerns and take the right action to put this right
During our visit we saw that not all the records relating to staff and people living in the home were stored appropriately. Although there were lockable filing cabinets available to store confidential information on the day we visited one of the cabinet locks was broken, service user files and staff supervision records were still being stored in the unlocked cabinet.