Domiciliary Care Agency East Area

Domiciliary Care Agency East Area is a supported living service which provides personal care to younger adults, including people with a learning disability and autistic people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, 18 people received support with personal care, in 7 supported living settings, made up of flats and shared houses.

Right Care: People did not always receive appropriate support, as the service did not always have enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The level of person-centred care that people received was not consistent across all of the supported living settings. People did not always receive care that reflected their individual needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice. People could not always take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. People liked the staff who supported them, and most relatives told us staff knew their family member's needs and preferences. People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff understood

their individual communication needs. People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Right Culture: People did not always receive good quality care and support. The service had had experienced staffing difficulties and people were not always supported to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. The service did not always work with people, those important to them and staff to develop the service. The service did not always have a culture of improvement and inclusivity. They did not always respond to complaints appropriately. The service did not always monitor and evaluate the quality of support provided to people. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. They were happy with the management of the service.

There had been a number of changes in management over the previous year or so, which had resulted in inconsistency in the level and quality of support being provided across the service. Governance arrangements were not always effective. Checks of quality and safety were not always being completed as they should have been, and where improvements were needed, these were not always being completed in a timely way.