This inspection took place on 22 and 29 August 2017 and was announced. The service is registered to provide personal care to people with learning and physical difficulties in their own homes when they are unable to manage their own care. At the time of the inspection there were four people using the service.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 had support plans that were personalised to their individual needs and wishes. Records contained detailed information to assist staff to provide care and support in a manner that respected people’s individuality and promoted treating people with dignity.

Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were safe with the staff that supported them in their own home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns.

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required safely and at the times they needed. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.

People received care and support from staff that were kind and empathetic to their individual needs. They encouraged and promoted people’s independence and supported them to live fulfilled lives. Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care and support people needed and were supported by a management team which was receptive to ideas and committed to providing a high standard of care and support.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

Staff had developed good relationships with the people they provided care to. People and their families were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary.

The registered manager led a management team which was approachable and supportive. There were thorough systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and action was taken to drive continuous improvement.