- Homecare service
West Hampshire DCA
Assessment report published 20 July 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out a responsive assessment at West Hampshire DCA between 3 June and 24 June 2026. This assessment was prompted by a review of the information we held about the service and was our first inspection since they registered with CQC.
At the time of the assessment, 5 people were using the service. CQC only inspects where people are receiving the regulated activity personal care. We assessed the service in line with the ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to determine whether people with a learning disability and autistic people were supported with respect, equality, dignity, choice, independence, and good access to their local communities that most people take for granted.
West Hampshire DCA is a service providing care for older people, younger adults, people with sensory impairment, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, and people with a physical disability. The service consists of 6 supported living services, managed by 2 service managers. There is currently no registered manager in post; however, a new manager is in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission.
The service provided person-centred care, with positive feedback from people and relatives highlighting kind, compassionate staff and meaningful support.
People were supported to make choices, maintain relationships and live active lives, and staff demonstrated a good understanding of individual needs.
Systems were in place to support safe and effective care. However, opportunities were identified to further strengthen the provider’s recording and oversight, including ensuring documentation is consistently clear, up to date and fully aligned with best practice, to support ongoing quality and consistency.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 3 people, and 4 relatives of people who used the service to gain feedback about their experience of receiving care from the provider.
People’s feedback was positive, with individuals expressing they were happy being supported by the service and wished to continue to be supported by the provider in their own homes. They described positive relationships with those they shared housing and lived with, alongside ongoing contact with family and friends. People highlighted that staff supported them with both daily tasks and accessing a range of activities, with 1 person telling us, “Staff help me with going out to the pictures, bingo, and the theatre to see Paddington.” People also confirmed they were able to make choices about their daily routines, with 1 person saying, “I go to bed and get up when I want to”, reflecting support to make choices about their day-to-day lives.
Relatives shared consistently positive feedback about the service, describing people as safe, well cared for and supported by kind and considerate staff who knew individuals well. They highlighted effective, regular communication and collaborative relationships, with relatives feeling fully involved in decision-making and care planning. One family member told us, “They [staff] really go above and beyond,” and overall feedback reflected that people are supported to access meaningful activities, maintain relationships, and live fulfilling lives. The environment was also described as clean, well maintained and homely.
However, a small number of relatives noted some uncertainty following recent changes in management, including reduced clarity around roles and less visibility of middle management. While confidence in frontline staff remained high, these changes had at times led to some confusion in communication at management level.