Lancaster House

Lancaster House provides rehabilitative support and accommodation for ten adults with enduring mental health needs.

Lancaster House is a large terraced property situated in a residential area close to Blackburn town centre. There were eight people accommodated at the home on the day of the inspection.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Risk assessments were in place to keep people safe. We saw individual risk assessments were in place in relation to people's health care needs. We also saw risks in the environment had been considered to ensure the safety of people who used the service, staff and visitors.

Medicines were managed safely. Staff had received training in administering medicines and their competencies were checked regularly. We found medicines were stored safely and the medicine administration records were completed without any gaps.

Recruitment systems and processes in place were robust. We saw references, identity checks and Disclosure and Barring Service checks were completed before staff were employed. People who used the service told us and records we looked at showed adequate numbers of staff were on duty.

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

All new staff members were expected to complete an induction when they commenced employment. Training courses were available to staff which were relevant to their roles. Staff members told us and records confirmed that staff members received supervisions and appraisals on a regular basis.

People who used the service told us staff were kind and caring. We observed interactions from staff that were kind, caring and respectful.

Staff members knew people very well, including their preferences, background and history. People's care records contained information relating to their sexuality, cultural/spiritual needs and relationships.

All the staff we spoke with told us they would be happy for a family member to be cared for by the service.

We saw detailed, person centred support plans were in place. These clearly reflected people's choices and preferences, including what they had already achieved and what they still wanted to achieve. Records also showed that people were supported by their key worker, to identify 'SMART goals'. These goals were both realistic and achievable and gave people a direction and something to work towards.

None of the people we spoke with had needed to make a complaint but they were able to tell us who they would approach if they needed to. The service had a complaints procedure in place.

All the people we spoke with knew who the registered manager was and told us they were approachable.

The service's management and leadership processes achieved good outcomes for people.

The service was meeting all relevant fundamental standards.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found