Northumberland Mid & North Domiciliary Care Agency

Updated 16 June 2026

Date of assessment: 30 June 2026 to 24 July 2026
Mid and North Domiciliary Care Agency (known as Mencap to people and relatives), provides supported living to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspect where people receive personal care. The service was providing care to 17 people at the time of the assessment.
The service provided an exceptional standard of care and support and has continued to achieve a further overall outstanding rating. The service had a strong, person-centred culture where people were at the heart of decisions and staff consistently treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. People, relatives and healthcare professionals spoke highly of the care people received. People described feeling safe, listened to and well supported. Staff knew people exceptionally well and worked with the same people in small teams to ensure people were always cared for by staff who knew them. Staff promoted independence and choice, and responded promptly to people’s needs to minimise discomfort and distress. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. The service was meeting the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Care and treatment were delivered to a consistently high standard. Assessments were carried out when popple moved to the service. Care documents were highly personalised and strong multi-disciplinary working supported people to access timely healthcare and to maintain and improve their health and wellbeing. There were safe systems for medicines, infection prevention control, risk management and safeguarding. Risk assessments included positive risk taking to maximise people’s independence. This was supported through appropriate staffing levels, training and competency checks. Leadership and governance were highly effective, with an open learning culture, strong partnership working and a clear commitment to continuous improvement. Staff were proud to work at the service and spoke highly of the management team and support they received. The management team were available at all times to provide support to staff. A new electronic care planning system supported auditing and oversight of people’s care, meaning trends or issues could be identified and resolved very quickly.
 

Updated 16 June 2026

Feedback gathered from people and their relatives was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the kindness of staff, the high-quality person-centred care, and the support people received to maintain and increase their independence. People were safe, respected and treated with the upmost dignity. Staff at all levels were observed interacting warmly and sensitively with people, demonstrating a shared culture of compassion and ensuring people were safe and living their lives fully.
One person said, “The staff are really kind.” Another person said, “I get on with staff.” While another person said, “[The service manager] deserves to be the manager, he’s a nice man and he makes me happy. They (staff) make my life better with managing my stress and anxiety. I love that [the service manager] comes to see me every week.” People felt they were listened to.
A relative said, “[Person] is well looked after by staff who are very caring.” Another relative said, “Staff are brilliant, I highly recommend them. The staff train by working alongside others and [staff teams] are mostly stable.”
Visiting healthcare professionals spoke highly about how well the staff knew the people they cared for. One professional said, “One notable strength of the service is its consistent and proactive advocacy for [person]. Staff have demonstrated a commitment to safeguarding his wellbeing and ensuring his needs are met.”