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.