About the service: HF Trust Oxon Vale DCA provides personal care support to people living in supported living houses and bungalows. At the time of the inspection 43 people with learning and physical disabilities used the service. There were three registered managers for this location.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People and relatives told us staff were overwhelmingly kind, caring and professional. One person told us, “I love it here. All staff, everybody.” Relatives said staff really understood people's needs and cared for them exceptionally well.

¿ People’s fears and hopes were acknowledged and staff showed a commitment to be empathic, a good listener and friendly.

¿ The three registered managers oversaw the properties that they were in charge of well.

¿ There were systems to assess the quality of the service provided. Learning from audits took place which promoted people's safety and quality of life.

¿ The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering

the Right Support. People's care was person-centred and the support people received from staff focused on promoting people's choice and control in how their needs were met.

¿ 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.

¿ The principles and values of Registering the Right Support were being followed. People were

supported to access the healthcare services they required. Staff had sought guidance and support from different healthcare professionals to make sure they were providing care which met people's health needs.

¿The staff had the skills and experience to provide effective care. Staff had received training to provide safe care. For some staff, receiving support through supervision and appraisals had not always happened. One of the registered managers had identified these concerns and was working to ensure all staff received regular support.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated good (report published 16 October 2016). At this inspection we rated the service good. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected: This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care.

We inspected HF Trust – Oxon Vale DCA on the 22 August 2016. The inspection was announced. HF Trust Oxon Vale DCA is a domiciliary care service in Abingdon that provides 24 hour support and outreach support to adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder to help people live independently in the community. At the time of this inspection the agency was supporting 27 people across seven houses and outreach to three people.

There was an experienced and committed registered area manager in post who was the Regional Manager and two cluster managers whose aim was to find ways to enable staff to provide responsive care to people that use the service. 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 received an outstanding level of care that was responsive to their individual preferences and needs. The service had undertaken a strong commitment to ensuring that people in the service received individual person centred care. They had taken the time to find out what was important to the person and ensured that wherever possible people were able to follow their wishes to visit places they had expressed they wanted to do. Documentation had been prepared that was meaningful to the person and to help them understand this information as much as possible. Staff showed excellent understanding and appropriate responses to people’s needs and preferences. Relatives described a staff team that were able to support individuals to have the best life possible which had given them peace of mind. It was evident that people passed their time in the way they chose and wherever possible were given opportunities to increase their independence through positive risk taking.

The registered manager, cluster managers and supported living workers knew what to do if they suspected someone was being abused or harmed. Recruitment practices were robust and contributed to protecting people from staff who were unsuitable to work in adult social care. Medicines were managed and stored safely so that people received their medicines as prescribed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

Staff had received a wide range of training so that they had a good understanding of how to meet people’s needs. The registered managers and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA provides a legal framework to assess people’s capacity to make certain decisions, at a certain time. Staff were clear about the importance of gaining consent from people.

People participated in all the stages of choosing, planning and the preparation of their meals. Healthy eating was discussed in meetings and people were supported with any dietary needs they had. People were given guidance and reassurance if they needed it to maintain their health and wellbeing.

Staff made sure that if people became unwell, they were supported to access healthcare professionals for treatment and advice about their health and welfare. They did this in partnership with people and provided full information for people to help them understand their health needs.

People received care and respect from staff that had strong values about treating people in a way that respected them as individuals. Relatives described staff as excellent and who went out of their way to support people to achieve their expressed wishes. Staff were respectful of people’s privacy and dignity.

Management and staff understood the importance of responding to and resolving concerns quickly. The complaints procedure, as with all other communications, was produced in a format people could easily understand. Relatives told us that if t

We found that the service was offering an effective and enabling service to people, with good systems in place to monitor the quality of service, with an emphasis on continual improvement.

We spoke with three people who used the service. They indicated that they were happy with the way staff cared for them and that they were supported to live well in the community.

People's privacy and dignity were respected. We saw that the care they received clearly reflected their wishes and preferences. Staff had training in the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure people's rights were protected.

We saw up to date plans of care which considered individual physical, emotional and mental health care needs. We saw that risks were managed appropriately and that all documentation was kept up to date to ensure people had their changing needs met.

People were protected from harm and the risk of harm through staff training and supervision. The service also knew how to refer safeguarding incidents to the local authority as required.

We saw the service facilitated an advocacy group which provided people with an opportunity to express their views of the service and influence service developments.