This inspection took place on 21 February 2017 and was announced. This was our first inspection of the service.

Hillside House Domiciliary Care provides limited personal care activities to three people living within a supported living environment. In this type of service people live in their own flats, but staff are also on the premises to provide care and support where required. There was a registered manager in post when we visited 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.

We found there were audits in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service, however we found some recruitment files had been reviewed without identifying some documentation was missing or incorrectly dated.

People told us they felt safe using the service, and we saw good documentation in place to ensure risks associated with their care and support could be minimised. We saw some positive risks were taken to ensure people were not overly restricted in the way they lived their lives. People signed documentation to indicate their consent, and where necessary assessments of their capacity to make specific decisions had been carried out.

Staff were recruited safely. We saw the provider undertook background checks to ensure new staff were not barred from working with vulnerable people. People were further protected because staff received regular training in safeguarding. A full induction ensured staff received appropriate training before they started working in the service, and we saw they were supported to remain effective through regular training and supervision meetings. Not all staff had received an annual appraisal, however we saw the registered manager had an action plan in place to ensure appraisals were carried out.

We saw people who used the service did not require any assistance with personal care. People received safe support with their medicines when this was required or requested, and we found no errors in the records kept relating to the administration of medicines or the stocks held by the service. Records showed people received assistance with medicines at regular times each day.

Staff encouraged people to eat a healthy diet, although people planned and prepared their own meals. We saw one person had expressed a desire to lose weight and was receiving effective support to achieve this.

People told us the staff were caring, and we observed people and staff knew each other well. We saw evidence people were involved in the processes of writing and reviewing their care plans.

The provider supported people to maintain and improve their independence, and we saw information was made available in formats which ensured they were accessible to people who used the service. Documentation was written in a person-centred way.

There were systems and practices in place to ensure complaints and concerns were responded to appropriately.

There was a registered manager in post when we inspected. They were supported by management staff from one of the provider’s other services in the area, and senior staff who worked at the service. We received good feedback about the way the service was managed, and saw people and staff were given opportunities to meet with the registered manager and discuss improvements to the service.