This inspection took place on 20 and 21 September 2016 and was announced. At the last inspection in June 2013, we found the provider was meeting all the regulations we inspected.

Spectrum Care Services provides support with personal care to people with learning disabilities in their own homes. People who use the service live in a range of shared houses and flats staffed by unit managers and care workers. This is sometimes called “supported living.”

At the time of our inspection the service had a registered manager. 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 made decisions about what they wanted to do day to day and legal requirements relating to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being met. People told us they felt safe. The staff we spoke with knew what to do if abuse or harm happened or if they witnessed it. Risk assessments were in place for people living in the locations.

We found that medicines were well managed and people’s health was monitored and they attended health care appointments. People’s nutritional needs were met.

Staff received appropriate training or on-going or periodic supervision to make sure competence was maintained and all new staff completed an induction programme. Recruitment practices were safe as background checks were carried out. The service managers, staff and people who used the service told us there were enough staff.

Interactions between staff and people were friendly and knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity. People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. People engaged in a range of activities, both at home and in the community.

People were supported by members of staff to raise any complaints or concerns if they wished. The registered person had effective systems in place to monitor the overall quality of service delivery and provided support to the service managers at the locations.

The provider provides support in people's homes which they rent from an independent landlord. We visited and spoke with 10 people using the service who had varying difficulties with communication. They told us: "I like it here" and "Staff are my family." We saw that people using the service felt comfortable with the staff and that staff treated them with respect. The provider supported people to be independent and be involved in the community.

The provider provides support in people's homes which they rent from an independent landlord. We visited and spoke with 10 people using the service who had varying difficulties with communication. They told us: "I like it here" and "Staff are my family." We saw that people using the service felt comfortable with the staff and that staff treated them with respect. The provider supported people to be independent and to be involved in the community.

The provider did make most checks on people before they started work, such as criminal record checks and whether people had relevant physical or mental health conditions. We saw that in the past they did not collect or review all of the information required under the regulations, however the provider was in the process of implementing a new system for recruiting staff which included all required checks.