This inspection took place on the 21 and 22 March 2017 and it was announced.

Hillcrest Supported Living, West Sussex is a ‘supported living’ service providing support to adults with learning disabilities, autism and other complex needs. This service provides care and support to people so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate agreements; this inspection looked at their personal care and support arrangements. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 25 people with personal care. They lived by themselves or with family or in one of five small shared houses with people of similar needs, abilities and preferences. Hillcrest Supported Living, West Sussex has a registered office in Felpham, Bognor Regis. The office kept records relating to the people they were supporting, staff records and other records relating to the management of the service.

The service had a registered manager in post who was registered in August 2016. 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.

During this inspection we observed the registered manager knew people they supported well and was hands on in his approach and was committed to ensuring people using the service received a good standard of care. However, they failed to notify the Commission about one allegation of potential abuse. We have made a recommendation to the provider regarding this. Audits to monitor the quality of the care provided to people were not always effective. This included how the office monitored the completion of Medication Administration Records and risk assessments. We have discussed this in the Well-Led section of this report. The registered manager was able to take action during the inspection to improve these areas and minimise the risks to people using the service.

Staff understood local safeguarding procedures. They were able to speak about what action they would take if they had a concern or felt a person was at risk of abuse. Relatives spoke positively about the support their family members received from the service and records reflected there were sufficient staff to meet people's needs. The service followed safe recruitment practices and overall medicines were managed safely.

Staff felt confident with the support and guidance they had been given during their induction and subsequent training. Staff also told us they were satisfied with the level of support that they were given from the management team. Supervisions and appraisals were consistently carried out for all staff supporting people.

People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to be involved with determining the care they received. Staff understood the requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and about people's capacity to make decisions. Some people received support with food and drink and had access to health and social care professionals when needed.

Staff spoke kindly and respectfully to people, involving them with the care provided. Staff had developed meaningful relationships with people they supported. Staff knew people well and had a caring approach. People were treated with dignity and respect.

Care planning was personalised and focused upon the person’s whole life, including their goals and aspirations, skills, abilities and how they preferred to manage their health. Care plans reflected information relevant to each individual and their abilities including people's communication and health needs. They provided clear guidance to staff on how to meet people's individual needs. The service protected people from social isolation. Staff were proactive, and made sure that