This inspection took place on 10 January 2017 and was announced as this is a small domiciliary service and we needed to be certain people and staff would be available to speak with. This is the first inspection of this service since it was registered on 14 November 2014.

Choice South West is part of HFT a national provider of services for people with learning disabilities. This service provides personal care and support to people in their own homes in and around the Tiverton area. There are two main sites where people have their own tenancies and support is provided over a 24 hour period. The service currently supports 13 people.

The service is headed by a registered manager who had been at the service for just under 12 months. 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 supported by staff that had the right skills. This enabled them to provide safe, effective and person centred care.

People’s care was well planned and took into consideration individuals preferred routines, likes dislikes and aspirations for the future. There was sufficient staff to meet the needs of people currently using the service.

People were cared for in a way which protected their dignity, privacy and respect. Staff knew people well and had developed strong relationships. This helped to ensure the service delivered caring and compassionate support.

Support workers received training and supervision which enabled them to feel confident in meeting people’s needs and recognising changes in people’s health. The organisation ensured best practice and good guidance was followed.

People’s rights were protected because staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and when needed were able to support people to make best interest decisions, including the involvement of independent advocates.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s medicines were handled safely and any support needed in these areas were recorded following the service policies and procedures.

Safe recruitment practices meant staff were only employed if they had the right checks in place to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. People were kept safe because staff had a good understanding about types of abuse and who they should report any concerns to.

Records showed people were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and their healthcare was being monitored to promote their well-being.

People were supported to follow their interests and hobbies and lead fulfilling lives. It was clear people were afforded choice and their views were sought on all aspects of the running of the service.

There were regular opportunities for people, and people that matter to them, to raise issues, concerns and compliments. People were confident their concerns would be listened to by the registered manager/staff and acted upon.

A number of effective methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service provided.