This inspection visit took place at United Response - Merseyside Supported Living on 27 October 2016 and was announced. We told the registered manager 24 hours’ before our visit that we would be coming. We did this to ensure we had access to the main office and the management team were available.

United Response - Merseyside Supported Living provides care and support services to people with learning disabilities in the Greater Merseyside area and North Wales. People who access the service live in a tenancy and most have twenty four hour support. The office is located in central Liverpool and is close to public transport links. The office is located on the second floor of the building and is accessible by stairs or lift.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 said staff were supportive and helpful. One person said, “The staff are lovely. They are so kind and nice.” We saw staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and were respectful, attentive and caring.

Staff were aware of how to support people and keep them safe. They were aware of how to raise concerns about poor practice or abuse should they need to. We saw staff received frequent and relevant training.

Staff recruitment was safe and robust so that risks of employing unsuitable people were reduced. Staff had to wait for all required checks before they could start working for the service. There were sufficient capable and experienced staff who provided a flexible service which met people’s needs.

Staff supported people to shop for and prepare nutritional and healthy food.

Staff supported people in a person centred way. Care plans were in place detailing how people preferred to be supported.

People were given support and encouragement to develop new skills and interests, including work, social and leisure activities. They told us they were encouraged to make choices and decisions about their care and lifestyles. Relatives were also kept involved where appropriate.

People were supported to take any medicines safely. Staff saw medicines were managed carefully and given as prescribed. They said their health needs were met and staff responded to any requests for assistance promptly.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This enabled staff to work within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

There was a transparent and open culture that encouraged people to express any ideas or concerns. People and their relatives said their views and preferences were listened to and acted on.

People we spoke with told us they knew how to raise a concern or to make a complaint. One person told us, “If my staff couldn’t help I would ring [registered manager] who would sort things out.” People said when they had told staff of any concerns they listened to them and took action to help.

There were procedures in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager sought people’s views and dealt with any issues of quality quickly and appropriately.

During our inspection we spoke with five people who used the service and we spoke with three of their relatives. We also looked at the care files belonging to seven people who used the service. Care files contained sufficient information and guidance for staff to support people appropriately in line with their preferences and wishes. People told us that staff understood their support needs and were caring and respectful towards them when providing support. People said that staff respected their choices and supported them in a manner which promoted their independence. One person said, "The staff understand me well." A relative we spoke with described staff as "Very committed" and going above and beyond to ensure people were well supported.

We spoke with seven members of staff who held various roles within the service. They had a good understanding of the needs of the people who used the service. Staff were person centred in their approach. We found evidence that demonstrated there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet the needs of the people who used the service. People told us they were supported by staff they were familiar with and that had no difficulty in getting hold of staff when they needed to.

People who used the service were safeguarded from the risk of abuse because the provider had appropriately responded to allegations of abuse. Support staff had received up to date training in safeguarding adults from abuse. People who used the service and their relatives told us that they felt safe. People were protected from inappropriate or unsafe care and support because Merseyside Supported Living had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service they provided. An appropriate medication policy and procedure was in place and staff had received training in the management of medication.