Clover provides a personal care service for two people living with a learning disability in their own home. At the time of this announced inspection of 25 August 2017 there were two people who used the service. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of our inspection to make sure that someone was available.

At our last inspection of 30 April and 28 May 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The service continued to provide a safe service to people. This included systems designed to minimise the risks to people, including from abuse and with their medicines. There were enough support workers to ensure that people received the planned care and support that they required to meet their needs. The support workers in the service had worked there since our last inspection where we found that recruitment was done safely.

Support workers were trained and supported to meet people’s needs. The management and support workers in the service understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2015. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and support workers cared for them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Systems were in place to support people to eat and drink enough, where they required support. People were supported to maintain good health where and have access to health professionals where needed.

Support workers had good relationships with people who used the service. People’s views and preferences were listened to and acted on about how they wanted to be cared for and supported.

People received care and support which was planned and delivered to meet their individual needs. A complaints procedure was in place.

The service continued to have an open and empowering culture and quality assurance systems in place were appropriate. As a result the quality of the service continued to improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

During our inspection we visited the provider's registered location and also visited the two people who used the service in their home. We spoke with the registered manager, one staff member and one of the people who used the service.

We found that the service supported people to make their own choices, acted in their best interest and provided a caring and safe service.

The service supported people to maintain their safety and hygiene in their own home. We found that staff were well supported and received training to support people effectively.

The service had effectively quality monitoring processes in place.

We spoke with one person who used the service. They shared their views with us using verbal communication, gestures, facial expressions and body language. We asked them if they were happy with their care, treatment and support and they nodded their head and smiled. They told us they liked the staff and said, “The staff are all right.”

We observed the care and support provided to the one person in the service during our visit and the interaction that took place.between the person and the staff. This was friendly, caring, respectful and professional.

We found that the provider was supporting the people using the service with their nutritional needs and, when necessary, with medication.

We found that records were up to date and kept securely.

We spoke with one person who used the service. They communicated with us to share their views using verbal communication, gestures, facial expressions and body language. We asked them if they were happy with their care, treatment and support and they nodded their head and smiled.

They told us they liked their support workers and said they were “nice and kind”.

During our visit the registered manager was the support worker for that shift. We observed them supporting the person who used the service with their communication needs through a speech therapy session using picture cards as prompts for practising words. We noted the registered manager supported the person at the pace that the person preferred and reassured them when they became frustrated. The registered manager told us that the person was developing their vocabulary and had made “significant progress through regular speech therapy sessions”.

We observed the care and support provided to the people who used the service and the interaction that took place. This was friendly, caring, respectful and professional.

The inspection took place on the 30 April and 28 May 2015. This was an announced inspection. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service.

Clover is providing support and assistance for two people with learning disabilities to live independently in their own home. The provider told us that this was the maximum number of people they were looking to support.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

There were systems in place which provided guidance for care workers on how to safeguard the people who used the service from the potential risk of abuse. Care workers understood the various types of abuse and knew who to report any concerns to.

There were procedures and processes in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included risk assessments which identified how the risks to people were minimised.

There were sufficient numbers of care workers who were trained and supported to meet the needs of the people who used the service. Care workers had good relationships with people who used the service.

Where people required assistance to take their medicines there were arrangements in place to provide this support safely.

People were supported to choose a healthy and balanced diet. Where care workers had identified concerns in people’s wellbeing there were systems in place to contact health and social care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment.

People or their representatives, where appropriate, were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People’s care plans had been tailored to the individual and contained information about how they communicated and their ability to make decisions.

People were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests.

A complaints procedure was in place to ensure people’s concerns and complaints were listened to, and addressed in a timely manner and used to improve the service.

Care workers understood their roles and responsibilities in providing safe and good quality care to the people who used the service. The service had a quality assurance system and shortfalls were addressed. As a result the quality of the service continued to improve.