Kestrels

Kestrels is a residential care home which is registered to provide a service for up to five people with learning disabilities. People had other associated difficulties such as behaviours that may cause distress to themselves and/or others and some people were on the autistic spectrum.

At the last inspection, on 16 December 2015, the service was rated as good in all domains. This meant that the service was rated as overall good. At this inspection we found the service remained good in four domains and outstanding in the responsive domain. This meant the service remained overall good.

Why the service is rated good.

There is a registered manager running the service. 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, staff and visitors were protected from harm and the registered manager ensured the service remained as safe as possible. Safety was maintained and promoted by staff who had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. People were also involved in this training as far as possible.

Staff understood how to protect the people in their care and knew what action to take if they identified any concerns. General risks and risks to individuals were identified and appropriate action was taken to reduce them, as far as possible.

People benefitted from adequate staffing ratios which ensured there were enough staff on duty to meet people's diverse, complex, individual needs safely. Recruitment systems were in place to make sure, that as far as possible, staff recruited were safe and suitable to work with people. People were supported to take their medicines, at the right times and in the right amounts by trained and competent staff. They were encouraged to take some responsibilities for their own medicines, as was safe and appropriate.

People continued to be supported by well-trained staff who were supported to make sure they could meet people's varied well-being and complex needs. Staff worked very hard to deal effectively with people's current and quickly changing health and emotional well-being needs. The service worked closely with health and other professionals to ensure they were able to meet people's needs.

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

People continued to be supported by a caring and committed staff team who continued to meet people's needs with patience and kindness.

The service was extraordinarily person centred and responsive to people's needs, wishes and aspirations. Staff had made very positive impacts on people's independence, self-esteem and overall well-being. Activity programmes were exceptional and designed to meet the outcomes people wanted from their care. Support planning was highly individualised and regularly reviewed which ensured people's needs were met and their equality and diversity was respected.

The registered manager was highly respected and ensured the service was well-led. She was described as open, approachable and supportive. She knew people's needs and supported her staff team to provide excellent care. The registered manager and her team were committed to ensuring there was no discrimination relating to staff or people in the service. The quality of care the service provided was constantly assessed, reviewed and improved, as necessary.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found