This inspection commenced on 13 April 2018, and it was announced.

Care Support Bedford Branch provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

At the time of our inspection they were providing a service to 61 people at Gordon Colling House and St Bede’s, both located in the town of Bedford.

The service had a registered manager in post who was present throughout our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 that they felt safe. There were safeguarding procedures in place to protect people from harm and staff had received effective training in safeguarding people. Staff understood their responsibilities and described an open culture for reporting any concerns.

Potential risks to the health and well-being of people had been identified, assessed and managed through detailed risk assessments. Staff were provided with guidance on how individual risks could be minimised and all assessments were updated regularly.

Any accidents or incidents that were reported by staff were analysed by senior staff and action take to reduce reoccurrence.

People were supported by a consistent, reliable staff team who were sufficient in number to provide the care and support required. The service had robust recruitment procedures in place to ensure safe recruitment of all staff.

There were effective systems in place for the management of medicines. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed, where assessed as required. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being and accessed the services of health professionals.

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.

People had been involved in planning their care and deciding in which way their care was provided. Each person had a detailed care plan which was reflective of their needs, had been reviewed at regular intervals and evidenced people’s consent to the service agreed.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to care for people effectively. Regular training, support and supervision was provided to all staff with an ongoing staff development plan in place for each staff member. Spot checks and annual appraisals were consistently completed and used to improve upon and give feedback on performance.

People were provided with an individualised service by staff who were described as being kind, caring and helpful. Staff provided care in a respectful manner and maintained people’s dignity. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they were supporting and positive relationships existed.

People knew who to raise concerns or complaints with and felt confident in doing so. The provider had an effective process for handling complaints. They were recorded, investigated, responded to and included actions to prevent recurrence. Feedback on the service was encouraged and was consistently shared with staff for learning and development of both themselves and the service they provided.

There was positive leadership at the service. People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and senior staff. Management were visible, approachable and were actively involved in the running of the service. Staff felt valued, motivated and we