About the service: Community Support Service (Dom Care) provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. They also provide a domiciliary service to people in their own homes. The service’s office is based in Rickmansworth and the support for people receiving personal care is in and around this area. 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 was supporting seven people who needed support with personal care who were using the service.The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen ' Registering the Right Support' CQC policy.
What life is like for people using this service: People who used the agency told us they felt confident in the management team and how the service operated. They told us good staffing levels afforded people responsive and dignified support.
There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and staff had time to spend with people. Risk assessments were carried out and promoted positive risk taking which enabled people to live their lives as they chose.
People received their medicines safely.
People received person centred care and support based on their individual needs and preferences. Staff were aware of people's life history, and their communication needs. They used this information to develop positive, meaningful relationships with people.
Staff were respectful of the fact they were working in people's homes. The service offered flexible support to people and could adapt to meet people's needs and support them as they wanted.
Where restrictions had been put in place to keep people safe this had been done in line with the requirements of the legislation as laid out in the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Any restrictive practices were clearly recorded and regularly reviewed to check they were still necessary and proportionate.
People were involved in planning their care and decisions about how care was delivered. Easy read information was provided to help people make informed decisions. Where necessary other supporting information was provided such as visual and audio materials. We observed people were in charge of their routines and were able to request support when they needed it.
Staff were recruited in a safe way and following a recent recruitment campaign, there were enough staff to meet people's current needs. Staff were supported by a system of induction, training, one-to-one supervision and appraisals to ensure they were effective in their role.
People were supported to access health professionals when needed and staff worked closely with those professionals to ensure their health and social needs as well as their well-being was monitored.
The registered manager and provider worked well to lead the staff team in their roles and ensure people received a good service.
More information is in Detailed Findings below
Rating at last inspection: At our previous inspection the service was rated Good. (Report published 3 March 2016)
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection the service remained Good.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.