- Homecare service
Cera - Wiltshire
Assessment report published 25 February 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Cera Wiltshire is a homecare agency is registered to provide support to people living in their own homes. The service supports people living with dementia, people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. At the time of our assessment there were 143 people receiving a regulated service. We visited the service on 17 and 18 December 2025. The inspection was carried out because of the length of time since the last assessment.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture’ is the guidance The Care Quality Commission follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. Providers must also ensure they have an understanding of “stopping over medicating of people with a learning disability and autistic people” (STOMP).
The assessment was a fully comprehensive inspection, which looked at all key areas. During the last inspection we found the provider was in breach of the legal regulations in relation to medicines administration, good governance and ensuring fit and proper staff employed. During this inspection we found improvements in all these areas had been made and the service was no longer in breach of regulation.
We identified some shortfalls with the provider’s governance systems. However, the provider had an awareness of these shortfalls and had developed an improvement plan.
Care being delivered on time was still a concern, and the service was only meeting a 74% rate of on time visits. This was picked up in monthly audits but sufficient progress had not been made by the provider to meet their own key performance indicators (KPIs).
Staff had been recruited safely with all pre-employment checks completed prior to them starting. Staff training was current, in line with national standards and all staff had the care certificate qualification as a minimum. However, we identified some shortfalls in risk management where people’s risks had not been documented. Staff told us leaders and managers supported them well. The provider had a focus on staff well-being, organising team meetings and informal drop-in sessions at the registered office. All staff had completed safeguarding training and expressed confidence that any concerns raised would be addressed appropriately by leaders. However, there were some shortfalls with care planning documents which lacked documentation relating to people’s capacity. Most care plans contained personal preferences regarding how people liked their care to be delivered.
Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity. They treated people as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends.
People were not always involved in decisions about their safety, and care plans did not always contain detailed, dynamic information tailored to individual needs. This shortfall meant people were not always empowered to maintain independence and control over their lives.
Environmental safety was embedded into everyday practice. Staff were trained to identify hazards and escalate concerns promptly, supported by regular competency checks and scenario-based learning. Proactive referrals ensured people’s homes were adapted to meet changing needs. This enabled people to feel safe and respected in their own environment.
People's experience of this service
We received positive feedback from people and their relatives. People told us they were happy and felt safe. Comments from people included “I love my carers, they are kind to me” and “Their attitude is excellent, nothing is ever too much trouble”. Another person told us, “The carers are great at ensuring the environment is secure”.
People praised the provider for their knowledge and support with manual handling tasks, commenting “The carers know what they are doing. I need a hoist, they are trained to use it properly. The regular cares are lovely, I am very proud of them”.
However, we found shortfalls in the provider’s visit timings. Comments included “I have a health condition, my visits are scheduled for 7am, but staff invariably turn up at 9am” and “my regular carers aren’t usually late, but new staff are”. Several people told us their staffing preferences were not always listened to. Comments included: “I have asked for female only staff but am regularly sent male staff – the office knows I do not like this” and “I have had different carers all week, this means I feel like I lack consistency with my carers”.