This inspection took place on 13 October 2015 and was unannounced.
Western House is registered to provide residential care and support for five people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service. The service provides five individual bedrooms of which three have an en-suite facility. The service is a detached dwelling located within a residential area of Derby.
Western House had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they feel safe at Western House as the staff and the building itself make them feel secure. People’s needs are supported by risk assessments that identify potential risks due to people’s lifestyle choices and guidance for staff as to how risk is to be minimised was recorded. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in promoting people’s safety and this was reflected within the training they undertook.
There are sufficient staff available who have undergone a robust recruitment process and who have the appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding that enables them to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe.
A system of assessing risk and developing plans of care was in use which has been developed specifically for people who require support with their mental health; this enables the staff to provide effective care based on best practice to ensure people’s needs are recorded and responded to.
People are involved in all decisions with regards to their care which includes their understanding of any restrictions placed on them which have been applied by external agencies to ensure their safety and well-being. People told us they regularly meet with staff to discuss and review their goals and aspirations.
Discussions with those using the service and records we viewed identified that people have access to a range of health care professionals and are supported to manage both their physical and mental health with the support of staff where the person themselves has requested this.
People using the service spoke to us of their goals and aspirations for living independently and how staff within the service support them to achieve this. They told us they shop for groceries and prepare and cook meals. People told us that staff support them with their decisions to gain paid and unpaid employment.
People were complimentary about the staff and the service they receive and told us how the staff work with them in a non-judgemental manner with consideration to their privacy and dignity.
People we spoke with told us that their mental health has improved and were able to give us examples as to how this has had a positive impact on their well-being.
People were able to make an informed decision as to whether they wanted to use the services of Western House. They had visited the service and met with staff and people who were already using the service before coming to a decision. People told us that the staff spoke with them about the aims of the service to enable them to decide whether this was the right environment for them.
People are confident that they can raise concerns and have received information as to how to make a complaint. They have the opportunity to attend meetings both within the service and externally, providing them with opportunities to speak with people independently.
People are involved in the day to day running of the service through formal and informal meetings, both collectively and individually, having the opportunity to comment on all aspects of their care and support.
The registered manager and other staff are supportive of the needs of people and regularly meet with them to ensure that the service is working well for them.
The registered manager has a good oversight as to the service provided and has a range of systems, which includes the supervision and appraisal of staff and the auditing of practices within the service which identifies that the service is being well-led.
Opportunities are in place for people using the service, their relatives, the staff employed and external professionals to comment on the service. Information about the service and people’s views is available on the services website.
Representatives of external agencies which include health and social care services provided us with positive feedback about the management of the service and how the registered manager and staff had a positive impact on the lives of people who receive a service.