About the service: aVida – Gloucester provides personal care and support to people living in their own home. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 43 people who required personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People and their relatives told us they were happy with the service they received and felt safe amongst the staff who supported them.

• People highly praised the caring nature of staff and told us staff were polite and they respected people’s dignity and privacy.

• People were involved in the assessment of their care and encouraged to retain their independence. Their care plans focused on people’s abilities and desired outcomes and provided staff with the information they needed to support people.

• People’s support needs were met. Staff always asked for people’s consent before they supported them.

• Safe and responsive systems were in place for staff to report any incidents, near misses or when people were found missing from their home.

• There were sufficient staff available to ensure people were supported by familiar staff who understood their needs.

• People’s support needs and risks had been assessed and were managed well.

• People received their medicines in a safe and timely manner and were referred to health care services when their needs changed.

• Staff were trained and supported to carry out their role and were knowledgeable about good care practices and their responsibilities to protect people from harm and abuse.

• Safe recruitment processes were in place to ensure people were cared for by suitable staff.

• Quality assurances systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided and actions were being taken by the registered manager to address any shortfalls.

• We have made a recommendation relating to the communication from staff if they were running late and the introduction of new staff.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Last report was published on 13 July 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: The rating of this inspection and the information and intelligence that we receive about the service will determine the timeframe of our next inspection.

This inspection took place on 6, 7 and 9 June 2016 and was announced. aVida- Gloucester is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people of all ages with physical needs as well as people who have learning disabilities, mental health problems and sensory impairments. The service provides care and support to people who live in their own homes. The level and amount of support people need is determined by their own personal needs. We only inspected parts of the service which supported people with the regulated activity of personal care.

A registered manager was in place as required by their conditions of registration. 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 cared for by care staff who understood their responsibility in protecting them from harm. Their personal risks had been identified and were managed well. Staff understood people’s risks but encouraged them to become independent. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns.

People had positive relationships with staff and were treated kindly and with compassion. They received care which reflected their individual preferences and routines. Staff had a good understanding of their personal histories and their likes and dislikes. Their care plans reflected their needs. However, there was no recorded guidance for staff if people became unwell. The registered manager immediately addressed this and implemented individual protocols where required. These protocols would guide staff and help them to ensure that they had the appropriate knowledge to assist people if their health deteriorated.

People were supported to stay healthy. When their needs changed, staff were responsive and referred them to the relevant healthcare services. Records showed the arrangements that were in place to make sure people received their medicines appropriately and safely. People's dietary needs and preferences were documented and known by the staff.

People told us the staff team who supported them with their personal care were kind and caring. They told us staff generally arrived on time and stayed for the full amount of time. Staff schedules confirmed that there had been sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure staff were suitable to work with people.

People were supported by staff who had the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge they needed to meet their needs. Staff felt supported and confident in carrying out their role.

People had consented to their care. Plans were in plans to implement care plans and assessments which were underpinned by the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The registered manager was committed to improving the service. They had a good understanding of their role and how to manage the quality of the care provided to people. They had reviewed trends and patterns relating to the running of the service and had acted on them. Staff and the managers listened to people’s concerns. They had worked in conjunction with other agencies and companies in the community to support the lives of people in the local community.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 July 2014 at aVida - Gloucester previous location. A breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to Regulation 9 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 relating to people’s care records

We undertook this focused inspection at the service's new location to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for aVida - Gloucester on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

At this inspection we found the support and care provided was now responsive to people’s care needs. The layout and detail of people’s care records had been reviewed and updated. People who used the service and staff had been involved and consulted about the new format. This gave staff with sufficient information to guide them on how best to deliver care that was centred on people’s needs and wishes. People had been involved in their care planning. Their risks were recorded and monitored. The new care records were now being implemented across the service.