We inspected Empowered Lives on 7 September 2017 and the visit was announced. This meant we gave the provider a short amount of notice to make sure the registered manager would be available. This was the first inspection of the service.

Empowered Lives were providing a service to one person in their own home, 24 hours a day and had been providing this since November 2016. Some sections of this report are short as we did not want to include information which could compromise the person’s confidentiality.

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.

A consistent team of staff provided care and support. They had received appropriate training and told us how well they worked as a team. Staffing levels were based on the needs of the person to keep them safe.

The registered manager and staff had completed training in respect of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and understood their responsibilities under the Act.

We found detailed care plans were in place and staff followed these to ensure the person who used the service received the right care and support and was kept safe. This included support with daily living, healthcare, nutrition, personal care and making sure they got their medicines at the right times.

The social worker and staff we spoke with told us how the consistent care and support and dedication of staff had improved the life of the person who used the service.

A complaints procedure was in place, but no concerns had been raised.

The registered manager and staff were committed to providing a personalised, individual service. Various audits were in place to make sure standards were maintained.