This inspection took place on 3 and 4 December 2018 and was announced. This was the service’s first inspection since the service registered in December 2016.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. It currently provides a service to adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. Two people used the service at the time of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in place who had registered in January 2017. We visited the registered manager in their office for our inspection. 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 and relatives told us they felt the service was safe. People were supported to have their risks managed by familiar staff who regularly supported them. Recruitment processes were carried out safely to reduce the risk of people being supported by staff who were unsuitable. People received safe support with their medicines.

People were supported to have their needs monitored, and to access healthcare services when needed, to help promote their health. People’s meals were prepared with the support of staff and healthy options encouraged. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive ways possible. Staff were supported to develop the skills and knowledge needed for their roles.

People’s relatives told us staff were kind and caring. People were supported to express their care needs and wishes. People’s independence was promoted and people were treated with care and respect.

People’s individual needs and preferences were considered and met through care planning processes. People and relatives were given access to information about how to complain about the service if they needed to. A complaints process was in place and would be used when necessary to drive improvements to the service.

We received consistently positive feedback about the service and how people’s needs were responded to. Relatives spoke positively about the support provided and felt the care provided had a positive impact on people’s lives. People’s relatives and staff felt able to contact the registered manager when needed.

Although the registered manager had oversight of the quality and safety of the service, this was not always robust; people’s own views were not always sought where possible, and records were not always accurately maintained and available to always ensure the safety of the service. We have made a recommendation about this.