London & South East Domiciliary Care is part of Heritage Care. The service provides personal care to people living in their own home on a 24 hour basis. The service was supporting 51 people with personal care at the time of our inspection

Two registered managers were 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.

Staff knew how to identify potential abuse and report concerns. Potential risks to people’s health and well-being were identified, reviewed and managed effectively to support people safely. Staff recruitment processes were thorough to ensure staff employed at the service were suitable and able to work with vulnerable people. People were supported by consistent staff who knew them well and were available in sufficient numbers to meet people's individual needs effectively. People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People’s dignity and privacy was respected and staff were friendly and caring. People were supported to participate in social activities including community based events that suited them. People had support to access healthcare professionals and services. People had choices of food and drinks that supported their nutritional or health care needs and their personal preferences and beliefs.

People received their care from a well supported staff team that had a clear understanding of people's care needs and the skills and knowledge to meet them. The registered manager and staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and demonstrated how to apply the principles of this legislation to their everyday practice and maintain people’s rights. Staff obtained people’s consent before providing support and respected people’s right to make their own decisions.

Care records were regularly reviewed and showed that the person had been involved in the planning of their care. They included people’s preferences and individual needs so that staff had comprehensive information on how to give people the support that they needed and wished for. People’s care was person centred and well supported Complaints were responded to promptly and effectively.

The service was well led; people knew the registered managers and found them to be approachable and available in the home. People living and working in the service had the opportunity to say how they felt about the home and the service it provided. Their views were listened to and actions were taken in response. The provider and registered manager had systems in place to check on the quality and safety of the service provided and to put actions plans in place where needed.