About the service: Live N Care is a supported living service that was providing personal care to 17 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People's lives were positively impacted by Live N Care staff. People were empowered to achieve their goals and dreams and supported to live active busy lives.

People and relatives were very happy with the care and support they received and spoke positively to us about staff, saying they thought of them as family. We were told, ''There’s nothing I’d change about the service I receive from Live N Care,'' and ''It’s a great company, I much prefer being with Live N Care [to previous provider].''

The registered manager and director were passionate about placing people at the heart of the service and encouraged staff to do the same. They constantly strove to identify ways for people who use the service to achieve their potential and improve their quality of life.

People's needs and wishes were met by staff who knew them well and enjoyed working with them. We saw and were told of many examples of staff going 'above and beyond' to help and support people they cared for.

Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people's care and support needs. People were involved in staff recruitment.

Staff received comprehensive training to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. Staff were encouraged to pursue professional development goals.

Staff were happy working for the service and felt supported by the registered manager and colleagues. We were told, ''There's good teamwork, I get on with everyone, they've all been really nice.''

Care records contained extensive, clear information covering all aspects of people's individualised care and support. Risk assessments were comprehensive and emergency evacuation plans were produced in a format that ensured people using the service could understand how to keep safe in a crisis situation.

Information about people was written in a respectful and personalised way and people were involved in the recording of their daily notes which ensured transparent and collaborative results.

People and their relatives were always involved in the planning and delivery of their care, and were regularly asked for feedback which was acted upon when appropriate.

People were supported in making healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and to maintain good health. Staff at the service worked collaboratively with healthcare professionals to ensure good outcomes for people.

The service had established links in the local community and had worked in partnership with key organisations including local authorities and other agencies that provided social care services to improve people's opportunities and experiences.

The service had an open approach to feedback and encouraged people and staff to be actively involved in service development. There were robust systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. When there were problems, the provider dealt with them properly and quickly, working with all those involved to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated Good overall at the last inspection (28 January 2017)

Why we inspected: The inspection was brought forward due to information of concern.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This unannounced inspection took place on 24 and 29 November 2016. This service supports people with their personal care needs in a supported living environment. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people receiving support from Live n Care.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The service demonstrated, without exception, that people were empowered to make their own decisions about the care they received and how they lived their lives. All the staff and the management team consistently went above and beyond people’s expectations to deliver personalised care which had outstanding positive impacts on people to lead independent and fulfilled lives.

People always felt safe whilst they used the service. Staff were reliable and did not let people down. The staffing team had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and had a strong commitment to their safeguarding responsibilities. People were supported to take assessed risks which helped to develop their independence and personal experiences. For example, people had been supported to understand road safety which had improved their ability to access the community with limited staff support. People’s needs had been assessed in the event of a fire which identified the support they would need to keep them safe.

Accidents and incidents were fully documented and were reviewed to identify trends, learning and any improvements that could be made. Staffing levels ensured that people could receive responsive and person centred care at all times and the provider’s recruitment procedures minimised the risks of employing unsuitable staff. People were empowered to take their medicines as independently as possible and the staff oversaw the arrangements to ensure that they were managed safely.

People, relatives and professionals were highly positive about the fantastic skills and competencies of the staff. The training staff received reflected the needs of the people that used the service, and this was to a positive impact. Staff were able to gain an insight into some of the conditions and experiences of the people they supported and this enabled them to tailor people’s care to meet these needs.

The management team had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and worked within the boundaries of it. Each person was given as much information as they could understand in order to support them to make decisions. Throughout everything the service did, people were asked for their consent and were fully involved in deciding how they wanted their support.

People were encouraged to maintain a balanced diet and eat well. The service used innovative ways to meet people’s nutritional needs and support their nutritional intake. People’s healthcare needs were recognised and staff were efficient at identifying when people required additional support with these needs. Relative and health care professionals were extremely positive about the impact the service had on people’s health and the improvements they had made since they began using the service.

Staff built caring and compassionate relationships with people. People were truly grateful for the support, kindness and generosity of the staff that supported them. There were clear professional boundaries in place however staff were able to maintain warm and endearing relationships with people. Staff took an empowering and empathetic attitude to support people and their personal development. Without exception, people were supported in a person centred manner.

Staff showed genuine interest and concern in people’s lives and people were listened to and encouraged to express their views. People’s individua