This inspection took place on 3 January 2019 and was announced.

Rowanberries DCA operates within the Rowanberries Housing with Care complex in the village of Clayton and is part of the Methodist Homes (MHA) group. This service provides care and support to people living in specialist 'extra care' housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented, and is the occupant’s own home. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support service. People receiving care lived in apartments within the complex. Out of 46 apartments, 40 people currently receive care and support from the DCA.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

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 registered manager was off work due to extended leave on the day of inspection and the service was being supported by the assistant manager, the provider’s area support manager and regional manager.

Staff were being recruited safely and there were enough staff to take care of people’s care and support needs. Staff were receiving appropriate training and they told us the training was good and relevant to their role. Staff were supported by the management team and were receiving formal supervision where they could discuss their ongoing development needs. Staff competencies were assessed regularly.

People who used the service and their relatives told us staff were helpful, attentive and caring. Staff demonstrated they treated people with respect and compassion.

Care plans were up to date and detailed what care and support people wanted and needed. Risk assessments were mostly in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate any risks which had been identified. People felt safe and appropriate referrals were being made to the safeguarding team when this had been necessary.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Medicines were being managed safely and people’s healthcare needs were being met. Staff knew about people’s dietary needs and preferences. The service was not currently supporting anyone at nutritional risk.

People told us they knew how to complain. Records showed complaints received had been dealt with appropriately.

Everyone spoke highly of the management team and said they were approachable and supportive. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided and where issues were identified they acted to make improvements.

We found all the fundamental standards were being met. Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected Rowanberries Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) on 18 July 2016 and our inspection was announced to ensure management was going to be available. The service was last inspected in October 2013 when it was found to be compliant in all areas inspected at that time.

Rowanberries DCA operates within the Rowanberries Housing with Care complex in the village of Clayton, about three miles from Bradford city centre and is part of the Methodist Homes (MHA) group. The agency is part of an integrated care scheme which aims to support older people to live as independently as possible within their own home. Out of 46 apartments, 43 people currently receive care and support from the DCA. Staffing is on-site, 24 hours a day which includes a chaplain, and there are extensive communal facilities including a restaurant/bistro, shop and lounges.

A registered manager was employed by 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. The registered manager was off work due to illness on the day of inspection and the service was supported by the deputy manager and a registered manager from another similar MHA service.

People told us they felt safe when visited by the staff at the service and there were enough staff to support their needs. Some staff told us they would value an extra member of staff during busy morning periods, although the service deployed extra staff according to people's dependency needs.

Safeguarding procedures were in place and both people and staff were aware of what to do if there were any areas of concern. Risk assessments had mostly been completed where necessary although one bed rail assessment still required completion. We found accidents and incidents had been documented and appropriate risk assessments completed following these.

An effective medicines management system was in place. People received or were prompted to take medicines at the correct times.

A robust recruitment policy was in place with appropriate checks to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff had access to regular mandatory and service specific training and received regular supervisions and annual appraisals.

The service was adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and no-one was currently subject to Deprivation of Liberties Safeguarding (DoLS). We saw care was provided in the least restrictive way possible, people were asked for consent and independence was encouraged.

People had access to a range of health care professionals and were supported to access these if unable to do so independently.

People praised the staff and told us they were kind, caring, compassionate and respectful of their privacy and dignity. They told us they were involved in the planning of their care, which was responsive to their changing needs.

Staff had a good understanding of people's likes, dislikes and care needs and enjoyed working at the service. Morale appeared good.

Detailed, person specific care records were in place which included assessments of people's care needs. People told us they had been involved in the planning of their care.

We saw the service promoted people's choice in all aspects of the service and we saw examples of the service respecting these choices.

The service employed a chaplain and an activities coordinator. A wide range of activities were on offer to promote social interaction, subject to people's choice.

Although only a small amount of complaints had been received, we saw these had been taken seriously and thoroughly investigated with outcomes and actions noted. People told us they had no complaints about the service.

People told us they felt able to approach the management with a

We spoke with five people who used the service. The people we spoke with were all positive about the care and support they received. People told us they had been consulted about the care package they received and their support plans had been discussed with them. We found the provider had assessed people's needs and there was evidence support plans had been amended to reflect people's changing needs.

In addition to the manager and deputy manager we spoke with five members of staff employed by the agency. The staff told us they enjoyed working at Rowanberries and always respected people's rights to privacy and dignity when they provided care and support. They also told us they helped and encouraged people to retain their independence and provided care and support in line with their agreed care plan.

We found the provider had enough staff to ensure the safety and welfare of people who used the service and had effective systems in place to prevent, detect and control the spread of health care associated infection. We also found the provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided.

We spoke with seven people who used the service. Everyone we spoke with confirmed that they felt they were treated with respect by the staff. They all confirmed that staff knocked on their door and waited before entering their apartment and that staff were polite and respectful. One person said “Yes, they always knock or ring the bell.” One person told us “The staff are all good here, I have never regretted coming”. Everyone we spoke with who used the service told us they felt safe. One person said “I couldn’t feel safer”.

We saw that people were supported through a care planning process to be supported with meeting their needs. People's wishes and choices were recorded and systems were in place to ensure that people were supported to raise complaints and be supported with any allegations of harm.

There was a recruitment process in place which ensured that checks were undertaken to verify that people were suitable to work in the service prior to them commencing in their role.

People told us that they were very happy with the care and support provided by the agency and said that staff were kind, considerate and caring. They also said that staff provided care and support in line with their agreed care plan and always respected their right to privacy and dignity.