White Horse Care Trust Domiciliary Service provides care and support to six people with learning disabilities living in the community.

This service provides care and support to people living in 3 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own homes as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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.

People said they felt safe. Staff knew how to keep people safe. Risk assessments were in place and we saw examples of positive risk taking. These enabled people to be as independent as possible whilst maintaining their safety. Incidents and accidents were reported and analysed. Safe recruitment processes were undertaken. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff had been trained to carry out their roles. They had regular supervision sessions with a line manager and all said they felt well supported. 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. One relative said “Staff could have wrapped [person’s name] in cotton wool, but they didn’t; they’ve empowered him.”

People told us staff were “brilliant” and “very kind and very helpful.” Relatives said “The staff are great.” Staff spoke positively about their roles.

Support plans were person centred and clearly detailed people’s preferences and choices about how they wanted to be supported. People were involved in writing and reviewing their plans. One person said “I want to be more independent in the future. The staff know that and are helping me with it.” There was a complaints procedure in place; this was also available in an easy read format.

The values of the trust were embedded in the day to day running of the service. Staff said management support was “excellent”. There were robust quality assurance systems in place.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The White Horse Care Trust Domiciliary Care Agency is a supported living service providing people with a learning disability support to live their lives as independently as possible. Support offered varied from supporting people with meal preparation to shopping and managing finances. The registered manager explained that support hours provided varied depending on the person’s needs. At the time of our inspection three people were using the service who all lived in the same house. Flexible support was offered 24 hours a day for seven days a week.

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.

When asked if they liked the support offered by the domiciliary care agency people said “Yes”. People told us they felt supported by staff and could ask for help when needed.

There were systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and potential harm. Staff were aware of their responsibility to report any concerns they had about people’s safety and welfare. People told us they felt safe living in the home.

The main focus of the service was to help people live their lives as independently as they were able. Staff had detailed knowledge of people’s preferences and needs. They received training and supervision to enable them to meet people’s needs.

There were enough staff deployed to fully meet people’s health and social care needs. The registered manager and provider had systems in place to ensure safe recruitment practices were followed.

People’s medicines were managed appropriately so people received them safely. People were supported to be independent and manage their own medicines were appropriate.

People were supported to eat a balanced diet. They told us they were supported to do their own shopping and prepare the meal of their choosing.

People were supported to access healthcare services to maintain and support good health.

The registered manager had systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided. People were encouraged to comment on how they felt about the service provided.

The service had been registered since April 2013 and provided care and support to people in supported living or in their own homes. It was both a Domiciliary Care Agency and a Supported Living service. At the time of our visit the agency was yet to provide its regulated activity of personal care to anyone using the service. They had commenced providing support, though no personal care, to three people in a supported living service.

We found the agency had systems in place to develop person centred support plans which fully involved the person concerned. People were involved in planning and developing their care and support and consent was clearly documented.

The agency had systems in place to recruit staff and complete the required checks to promote peoples safety. Staff were receiving regular supervision and had all undergone a period of induction.

The agency had systems in place to monitor the quality of service being provided. The manager completed and recorded monthly checks on various aspects of the service and was supervised by an area manager. There was a complaints process in place and a whistle blowing policy.