About the service

Walsingham Support, Domiciliary Care West Cumbria provides care and support to people living with a learning disability or autism, 16 people live alone in their own properties and eight people live in houses with one other person. There are two services with accommodation for five people, four flats where the care is provided on a shared basis and a block of flats for seven people where staff support all the tenants.

Not everyone using Walsingham Support, Domiciliary Care West Cumbria receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service

People told us they felt safe. Staff had received suitable training about protecting vulnerable adults.

Good arrangements were in place to ensure new members of staff had been suitably vetted and they were the right kind of people to work with vulnerable adults. Accidents, incidents, complaints and concerns were responded to appropriately.

People told us they had good support from staff. The registered manager kept staffing rosters under review as people's needs changed. The service had some vacancies but were actively recruiting to these posts.

People told us staff understood their needs. Staff were appropriately inducted, trained and developed to give the best support possible. We met team members who understood people's needs and who had suitable training and experience in their roles.

People were happy with the arrangements for medicines support. Medicines were suitably managed with people having reviews of their medicines on a regular basis.

People saw their GP and health specialists whenever necessary. Staff took the advice of nurses and consultants. The staff team had good working relationships with local GP surgeries and with the learning disability health and social care teams.

Staff carried out assessments of need and reviewed the delivery of care for effectiveness. They worked with health and social care professionals to ensure assessment and review of support needed was suitable and up to date.

People told us they were supported to budget, shop and cook healthy meals. Some people had specialist support to maintain a healthy weight and staff were reviewing nutritional planning.

The service base was now located near the centre of Workington and the office had space for meetings, training and activities.

The staff team were aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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.

People told us the staff were caring. We also observed kind and patient support being provided. Staff supported people in a respectful way. They made sure confidentiality, privacy and dignity were maintained.

Risk assessments and care plans provided detailed guidance for staff in the home. People in the service, their social workers and relatives, where appropriate, had influenced the content. The registered manager had ensured the plans reflected the person-centred care that was being delivered.

Staff could access specialists if people needed communication tools like Makaton or braille.

People told us they enjoyed the activities, interests and hobbies on offer.

The service had a quality monitoring system and people were asked their views in a number of different ways. Quality assurance had been u