Lanchester Court

The provider had in place systems and processes to ensure people were safe. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Staff liaised well with external safeguarding professionals.

People's support focused on their safety and basic needs. There were a range of examples of positive health outcomes for people. Some people had relished opportunities to gain new skills and become more independent.

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.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture. Person-centred care was not however fully embedded into practice and outcomes for people's independence and empowerment were at times inconsistent. We have made a recommendation about the need to improve person-centred care outcomes.

More could be made of the facilities, and the opportunities people could be enabled to pursue, to enable this independence. For instance, the outdoor spaces and the skills kitchen, both of which were under- utilised.

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

People told us staff were kind, and respectful. People were involved in the care planning and review process; their preferences informed care plans and communication strategies.

There was a positive culture amongst the staff at the service. People were valued as individuals and

encouraged to play a part in how the service was run. The atmosphere was relaxed and homely.

The registered manager and deputy worked well together and were keen to continually improve the service. External professionals were consistent in their praise of the openness and of the leadership team.

The registered manager and deputy manager were responsive to feedback during the inspection and during follow up. However there were areas of care plans and risk assessments which required improvement. The provider's auditing processes had not identified these areas. We have made a recommendation about this.