This was an announced inspection which took place on 28 and 29 September 2016. The inspection was announced to ensure the registered manager or another responsible person would be available to assist with the inspection visit.

We last inspected the service in October and December 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we reviewed.

Community and Housing Related Support Limited provides domiciliary care and support and eight supported living tenancies to adults, children and young people who have a learning and/or physical disability. The registered manager and additional management support staff were located at the company's head office in Hazel Grove Stockport Greater Manchester.

A registered manager was in place. 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 who used the service and their relatives were complimentary and positive about the support provided and attitude of the support workers. They told us they were happy with the service provided and felt their needs were being met. They also told us support workers treated them caringly, sensitively and with respect and they tried to make sure that their independence was maintained wherever possible.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff. We saw that recruitment procedures helped to make sure staff had the appropriate qualities to protect the safety of people who used the service and we saw they received the training and support required to meet people’s needs.

Support workers we spoke with told us they had undergone a thorough recruitment process. They told us training appropriate to the work they carried out was always available to them and following their employee induction. This helped to make sure the care provided was safe and responsive to meet peoples identified needs.

Individual staff training records indicated that all support workers had received such training and were working towards a nationally recognised qualification in care such as a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in health and social care and the Care Certificate. The Care Certificate is a professional qualification which aims to equip health and social care staff with the knowledge and skills they need to provide safe care and support to people using the service. This qualification helped them to carry out their roles effectively. Support workers confirmed they had received safeguarding and whistle blowing training and knew who to report to if they suspected or witnessed abuse or poor practice.

Care records were in place to reflect peoples identified care and support needs. Information about how people wanted to be supported, their likes and dislikes, when support was required and how this was to be delivered was also included in the care records we examined. Information regarding people’s dietary needs was included in their care records and clear guidance for support workers helped make sure these requirements were met.

We saw written evidence of people and their relatives involvement in the decision making process at initial assessment stage and during their care needs review.

Medicines were stored safely and administered by staff who had been trained appropriately to ensure they were given safely. Any specific requirements in relation to medication, such as rescue remedies for the immediate treatment of epileptic seizures, were clearly documented so that support workers could administer the medicine appropriately and were aware of any risk following administration.

Where people who used the service did not have the capacity to make their own decisions, the service ensured that decisions taken were in line wi

Independent Options provides a variety of services for people who have a learning and/or physical disability. The company's head office is located in Hazel Grove, Stockport. We visited the office on the 23rd and 24th August 2012 to look at the care files of the people who used the company's services and the staff files of the people who worked for the company. The same documentation was used across all the services.

The Community & Housing Related Support Service provides five different types of service; Community Support Team (Adults), Community Children and Young People’s Services and Supported Living; the remaining two services did not provide personal care and were therefore not inspected.

On the 18 September 2012 we visited one of the homes which was part of the Supported Living service. During our visit we were able to speak with two support workers and two of the people who lived there.

We also spoke over the telephone with one family member from each of the three services. Every one we spoke with said that they were happy with the service and had no complaints.

Comments we received from family members and people who used the service were; “I couldn’t wish for anything more, I am very pleased;” “They (staff) are very good with me, I like to know what is happening and they explain things;” “They always knock on my bedroom door;” “I am pleased with the care and pleased with support workers.”

The Community and Housing Related Support Service provides five different types of service, Community Support Team (Adults), Community Children and Young People’s Services and Supported Living; the remaining two services did not provide personal care and were therefore not inspected.

We visited the head office of the organisation and also visited one of the supported living properties. During our visits we looked at the individual assessment and support plans and support worker files.

We spoke with the registered manager during our visit to head office and spoke with the service manager by telephone. We spoke with two of the people who use the service and a support worker when we visited one of the supported living properties. We also spoke with two family members and three support workers by telephone.

People told us that they were happy with the care people received and were happy working for Independent Options.

One of the support workers told us “Everyone is very approachable it is one of the things I like about the job” and a family member told us “I feel so at ease with them I can tell them anything I need to”.