The Maples Residential Care Home Limited

The Maples is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Maples provides care and accommodation for up to seven people with a diagnosis of a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were seven people living in the home in the time of our visit.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service is required to have a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. At the time of our visit he registered manager had been in post for over 20 years.

People felt safe living at The Maples and there were enough staff to respond to people's needs in a timely way. Procedures were in place to protect people from harm and staff knew how to manage the risks associated with people's care.

Staff turnover was low and the provider's recruitment procedures minimised, as far as possible, the risks to people's safety. Staff were confident the training they received gave them the knowledge and skills to meet people's needs effectively.

The majority of staff told us they felt supported by the management team. Staff had opportunities to contribute their ideas to share suggestions and good practice.

The home was clean and well maintained. Regular checks of the building and equipment took place to make sure they were safe to use.

The provider was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). Staff respected the decisions people made.

Staff were friendly and caring and they enjoyed spending their time with the people who lived in the home.

Staff were responsive to people's needs and supported people to make and communicate their choices.

People enjoyed the food and nutritionally balanced meals were available. People's medicines were stored and administered safely. People received the care and treatment they required from health professionals.

People chose to take part in a variety of social activities which they enjoyed. People were supported to be independent and staff respected people's right to privacy.

People were happy with how the home was run and they were involved in planning and reviewing their care. They told us they felt listened to and they had opportunities to feedback on their service they received.

People knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable doing so. Effective systems to monitor and the review the quality of the home were in place.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found