Amara Care is a Domiciliary Care Agency that provides care and support services to people who live in supported living arrangements. The aim of the service is to provide people with the support they need to live as independently as possible.

Amara Care also provides personal care to help support people who live in their own home. The service specialises in providing support and treatment for people who are living with dementia, people who have learning disabilities and people who have mental health needs. People of all ages are supported, including children, young people and adults.

At the last inspection on the 8 June 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service was managed by a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Personalised care was delivered through individualised care plans and risk assessments. 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.

Staff were recruited safely and we saw appropriate checks had been completed. People who used the service were involved in the recruitment process. We saw staff had received suitable training and they told us they felt competent with assisting to meet people’s needs.

People who used the service were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. They had access to healthcare professionals and were supported by staff to attend appointments. People were able to receive specialist dementia care and psychological therapies by accessing professionals funded by the service.

Staff supported people’s dietary needs and encouraged healthy eating. People were also encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle by engaging in activities, which they were interested in and enjoyed. These activities promoted independence and choice.

People who used the service, or their appointed representative, were involved in their care and contributed to reviews when possible. People who used the service and their relatives told us they knew how to access the provider’s complaints policy.

We also saw that people were supported by caring staff who encouraged them to express their opinions. Staff were seen communicating effectively with people and advocacy services were used when appropriate.

The registered manager understood and fulfilled their duty to report notifiable incidents to the Care Quality Commission as required under legislation. The provider had developed quality assurance and governance systems to highlight shortfalls and drive improvements within the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We observed support to people who used the service in two supported living schemes. We also spoke with people supported to live in their own homes and contacted relatives of five people who used the service.

We were told that staff involved people in making choices about their support. We observed people were consulted about their wishes and preferences. One person told us that “Staff listen and go out of their way.” They said they were “Very much involved” in decisions about their support and had taken part in the recruitment process of their staff.

We were told that support was provided in a friendly and consistent way to ensure people’s wishes and feelings were respected. Relatives and people who used the service told us that visits to people in their own homes were “Punctual” and “Reliable.” Relatives said that staff supported people well with maintaining their health and that appropriate action was taken when this was required.

People who used the service and their relatives said they trusted and felt confident with the service. They said staff were “Practical and efficient.” Relatives told us that staff were well trained and were “Compassionate and caring.”

People who used the service and their relatives said they knew how to complain and had confidence the provider would take action to address any issues when required.

People who used the service and their relatives told us that staff provided a “Quality” service and that staff were “Good.”

People told us that staff involved them with making choices and decisions about their support. People told us that staff helped them to be independent and supported them with things like cleaning their rooms and cooking.

People that used the service said staff were friendly and generally supported them well with meeting their needs.

People told us that staff were good and helped them to keep safe.

This inspection took place on 8 and 11 June 2015 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected on 10 June 2013 when the service was found to be compliant with the regulations inspected.

Amara Care is a Domiciliary Care Agency that provides care and support services to people who live in supported living arrangements. These include people with a range of disabilities, including people with learning disabilities, people with mental health conditions and older people who may be living with dementia. The service also provides personal care to people who live in their own homes. The aim of the service is to provide people with support they need to live as independently as possible.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 were safeguarded from harm by staff who had received training on how to recognise and report potential abuse. Staff were safely recruited and checks were carried out to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

Assessments had been carried out and plans of support developed from these to ensure staff had information knew how to support people effectively.

A range of training had been provided to ensure staff could safely carry out their roles. Staff completed an in-depth induction programme to the service and received on-going support and professional supervisions to help support their roles.

Staff knew how to administer medicines safely. Medication Administration Records (MARs) seen had been completed accurately.

We observed staff interacted positively with people who used the service and involved them in making decisions, to ensure they were happy with how their support was delivered.

People told us that staff treated them with kindness, dignity and respect at all times.

People were asked for their views about the service. Satisfaction surveys were sent out to people and action was taken to help the service improve.

There was complaints policy to enable people’s concerns to be addressed and followed up when required.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities and reported accidents, incidents and other notifiable incidents as required. Staff were positive about the culture of the service.