This inspection took place on 7,8,10 and 13 January 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be available in the office.

The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. The service also provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ accommodation, 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 our inspection the agency was providing a service for 33 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with a learning disability or who have autism spectrum disorder. The agency was managed from an office base in Southampton.

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.

The registered manager oversaw the running of the full service and was supported by two support managers who were allocated a geographical area to manage. Support managers were responsible for individual parts of the service, for example support to people in a supported living unit or support to people living in their own home.

People and their families told us they felt safe and secure when receiving care. Relevant recruitment checks were conducted before staff started working at Wessex Regional Care Domiciliary Service to make sure they were of good character and had the necessary skills.

Staff received training in safeguarding adults. They completed a wide range of training and felt it supported them in their job role. New staff completed an induction designed to ensure staff understood their new role before being permitted to work unsupervised. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervision and support to discuss areas of development. Staff meetings were held every month. There were sufficient numbers of staff to maintain the schedule of care visits to meet people’s needs.

The risks to people were minimized through risk assessments and staff were aware of how to keep people safe and the information provided staff with clear guidelines to follow. There were plans in place for foreseeable emergencies.

People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was respected. People received their medicines safely. Staff had an understanding of legislation designed to protect people’s rights and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.

Staff knew what was important to people and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were supported to lead full and varied lives and encouraged to make choices and had access to a wide range of activities.

Staff were responsive to people’s needs which were detailed in people’s care plans. Care plans provided comprehensive information which helped ensure people received personalised care. People felt listened to and a complaints procedure was in place.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and could visit the office to discuss any concerns. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. Accidents and incidents were monitored, analysed and remedial actions identified to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.