This inspection of the domiciliary support service took place on 15 and 21 June 2017 and was announced. ‘Fenny Mews and Stratford View ‘ is registered to provide personal care to tenants living in their own accommodation within the two supported living houses, namely ‘Fenny Mews’ and ‘Stratford View’. The service supports adults with a range of needs arising from learning disabilities and includes, for example, autism. There were nine tenants living in the houses when we inspected.

A registered manager was not in post when we inspected although an application to register a manager had been received by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and was being processed. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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’s needs were safely met. People’s needs were assessed prior to taking up the service and their agreed care plans reflected people’s needs and preferences in relation to the care provided. Assessments were in place and appropriately acted upon to reduce and manage the risks to people’s health and welfare. Staff ensured that people that required support to manage their medicines received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to eat a healthy diet and to have access to health services in the community to improve their health and well-being. The staff followed the advice of healthcare professionals in meeting people’s needs.

People were protected from the risks associated with the recruitment of staff by robust recruitment systems and the provision of appropriate training to all new recruits. Staff understood the importance of protecting people from abuse and avoidable harm. They were aware of the actions they needed to take to report any concerns about people’s safety or well-being. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. Staff had received training to provide them with the skills and knowledge they needed to provide people with safe care.

People received support from a staff team that were caring, friendly, and responsive to people’s changing needs. They were able to demonstrate that they understood what was required of them to provide each individual with the person centred support they needed to live fulfilling lives as independently as possible. People were treated with dignity and their right to make choices about how they preferred their care to be provided was respected. People’s rights were protected.

People benefitted from a service that was appropriately managed by the person in charge so that they received their service in a timely and reliable way. People knew how to raise concerns and complaints and the provider had appropriate policies and procedures in place to manage such eventualities. There were also systems in place to assess and monitor the on-going quality of the service. People’s views about the quality of their service were sought and acted upon.