We Support Head Office

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. It provides a service to adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of the inspection there were 12 people receiving personal care. The service supported people in four different settings at various locations across Cheshire.

Not everyone using We Support Ltd receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered provider in post within the service who had been registered since January 2018. 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.

People were protected from the risk of abuse by staff who had received training in safeguarding vulnerable people. They were aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and knew how to report any concerns they may have.

The registered provider had robust recruitment processes in place which included checks on new employees. This helped ensure that staff were of suitable character prior to working at the service.

Risk assessments were in place which outlined what action staff needed to take to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff were aware of how to manage the risks posed by people's needs and action had been taken to keep people safe.

Accidents and incidents were being monitored and action had been taken to mitigate the risk of incidents reoccurring. This helped to keep people safe.

People received their medication as prescribed. Staff had received training in the safe handling of people's medicines and their competencies to do so had been assessed. This helped protect people from the risk of medicines being administered inappropriately.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's ability to make decisions had been considered and care records contained information about their cognitive

abilities. Staff had a good understanding of what 'mental capacity' is and the need to offer people choice and control over their lives.

Staff had received the training they needed to carry out their roles effectively. This helped ensure that people received safe and effective care.

People told us they enjoyed the food that was prepared by staff. We checked fridges which were well stocked with a variety of fruit, veg and other produce which showed a healthy diet was being prepared for people.

People were supported to access health and social care professionals where this was required. This helped ensure that their wellbeing was maintained.

Positive relationships had been developed between people and staff. We observed staff talking to people in a kind and friendly manner, and people's interactions showed that they were comfortable and at ease in the presence of staff.

People's confidentiality was protected. Offices containing personal information were locked when left unattended and where information was stored electronically this was password protected to prevent unauthorised access.

People each had a personalised care record in place which outlined their likes, dislikes and preferred daily routines. These also contained important information regarding people's physical and mental health needs. This ensured that staff had access to up-to-date and relevant information about the support they needed to provide to people.

There were activities in place for people using the service which people told us they enjoyed. These were varied and met the needs with specific communication needs. This helped protect people from the risk of social isolation.

There was a complaints process in place which people's family members had used. A record was kept of these complaints which showed that the provider had been responsive to concerns that had been raised and had taken action to address the issues.

There were audit systems in place which monitored the quality of the service being provided. Where issues were identified action had been taken to address these issues.

The registered provider is required by law to notify the CQC of specific incidents that occur within the service. Prior to the inspection taking place, we reviewed information that had been sent to us by the registered provider and found that this was being done as required.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found