We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

This service is a domiciliary care agency and supported living provider. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It also provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

The inspection activity started on 28 November 2019 and ended on 2 December 2019. We visited the office location on 28 November, carried out telephone interviews with relatives on 29 November and visited people at three supported living settings on 2 December 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection and sought feedback from commissioners. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who received support from the service and three people’s relatives. We also spoke with six members of staff, including support workers, a team leader, the registered manager and the regional quality manager.

We looked at various records, including care records for three people. We also examined records in relation to the management of the service such as quality assurance checks, staff training and supervision records, safeguarding and complaints management and medicines records.