This was an announced inspection which took place on 13 and 14 February 2018. We had previously carried out an inspection in February 2015 when we found the service to be meeting all the regulations we reviewed. At the last inspection the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

BuryILD is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in providing support to people with a learning disability. Support is provided both to individuals and to people living in small group settings. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people using the service.

The provider had a registered manager in place as required by the conditions of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and reporting poor practice. They were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who used the service from the risk of abuse. They were certain action would be taken by the registered manager if concerns were raised.

Systems were in place to ensure staff were safely recruited. Staff had been safely recruited and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

People received support from consistent staff teams who knew them well and worked flexibly around their support needs.

Systems were in place to ensure the safe handling of medicines. People were supported to take as much responsibility for their own medicines as possible.

Staff received induction, training, supervision and appraisal to help ensure they were able to deliver effective care.

People who used the service, depending on their ability, were responsible for household tasks in their own homes with support from staff as necessary. Systems were also in place to reduce the risk of cross infection dependent on individual needs.

We saw that interactions between people who used the service and staff were friendly and there was a good rapport between them. There was plenty of good humour delivered in a polite and well-mannered way.

Arrangements were in place to help ensure people received individualised care to meet their diverse needs. Staff demonstrated a commitment to providing high quality personalised care and supported people to achieve their goals.

Staff were aware of the interests and preferences of people who used the service. All the staff we spoke with demonstrated a commitment to promoting people’s independence and offering choice to them.

People and staff we spoke with told us they would speak to any of the managers if they had any concerns or complaints. They were confident they would be listened to and that action would be taken to resolve their concerns.

People who used the service, their relatives and staff were regularly consulted on the service provided and to identify where they thought any improvements could be made.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission and was qualified to undertake the role. They demonstrated a commitment to ensuring people’s experience of the service was positive.

Staff told us they enjoyed working in BuryILD and felt well supported both by their colleagues and the managers in the service.

Quality assurance systems in place were used to drive forward improvements in the service.

People’s care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We visited two people in their own homes who both required 24 hour support. Both people had limited ability to communicate with us verbally. We saw that they had different methods of communication in place to help them make day to day decisions and enable support workers to understand them.

People were supported to keep their homes clean and tidy. There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Support workers we spoke with confirmed that they had undertaken training in control of infection practices.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. The support workers we spoke with knew people well and were able to tell us about the way they preferred to be supported by them. We saw that there were frequent and friendly interactions between people using the service and their support workers.

There were other opportunities for people using the service, relatives and staff to have their say about the service provided by BuryILD. We were told that people who used the service held coffee mornings where they could talk about any issues or areas of the service provided that they thought could be improved. There were also family forums and development days.

We visited three people using the service in their own homes. People told or showed us that they were encouraged to live as independently as possible for example going shopping for food and clothes, keeping their homes clean and tidy. People told or showed us pictures of activities they had been involved in recently. Activities were wide ranging and included, going on holidays abroad, out for meals, to a disco in Manchester City Centre, belly dancing and art and card making at a local colleges to name but a few.

One person told us that they had now had more of a say in what happened within the organisation and were involved in various groups that discussed future plans and the development of the service provided. They said “I am in charge and in control of my support.”

People told us or indicated through documents and photographs that they had been involved in developing their person centred plans. One person told us that now they were more confident they had been able to overcome their fear of going to the dentist and were now having dental treatment. Another person told us they had lost weight by eating healthily.

One person we spoke with told us that they could speak to a member of staff if they had any concerns, worries or problems or contact a family member or the registered manager. They were confident that they would be listened to and that action would be taken to sort out the matter.

One person told us that they liked the staff members who were supporting them and if they did not they could ask for a change. Observations of people who were not able to speak to us indicated that they enjoyed being in the company of the staff member. The atmosphere was relaxed and there was friendly banter.

People told us that they were more involved with the running of the service and now had the opportunity to give their views and opinions.

This was an announced inspection which took place on 25 and 26 February 2015. We had previously carried out an inspection 12 December 2013 when we found the service to be meeting all the regulations we reviewed.

BuryILD is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in providing support to people with a learning disability. Support is provided both to individuals and to people living in small group settings. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service who were supported by 33 support workers.

The provider had a registered manager in place as required by the conditions of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 who used the service told us they felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff had completed training in how to safeguard vulnerable adults and knew the action they should take if they had any concerns in order to protect people who used the service.

Recruitment processes were robust and helped protect people from the risks of unsuitable staff. People told us there were always enough staff to meet their needs and that staff respected their choices about the support they wanted to receive.

Staff received induction, training, supervision and appraisal to help ensure they were able to deliver effective care.

People who used the service provided positive feedback about the staff who supported them. Our observations during the inspection showed that the interactions between people who used the service and staff were friendly and there was a good rapport between them. There were lots of jokes and laughter whilst at the same time people were polite and well mannered.

Staff were aware of the interests and preferences of people who used the service. All the staff we spoke with demonstrated a commitment to promoting the independence of people they were supporting.

All the people we spoke with told us they would speak to a manager in the service if they had any concerns or complaints. They were confident they would be listened to and that action would be taken to resolve their concerns.

People who used the service, their relatives and staff, were regularly consulted on the service provided and asked to identify where they thought any improvements could be made.