This inspection took place on 21 and 22 March 2017 and was announced. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. Gold Care Services Limited provides personal care for people who live in supported living accommodation. The people who use the service have a range of needs including learning disabilities with some people requiring 24 hour support. At the time of our inspection 11 people were using the service living in three separate supported living units. At our last inspection in January 2015 the service was rated as good.

At this inspection we found the service continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards and remained good.

The service had two registered managers in post. Each manager was responsible for their own designated supported living units, one manager covered two sites while the other managed one. 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 told us they felt safe living at Gold Care Services and staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff were aware of each person’s individual safety both in the service and in the community and worked hard to minimise risk while still encouraging people’s independence.

Staff supported people to be as independent as they wanted to be and encouraged them to follow their own activities and interests.There were enough qualified and skilled staff at the service. Staffing was managed flexibly to suit people's needs so that people received their care and support when they needed it. Staff had access to the information, support and training they needed to do their jobs well.

Care records focused on the person and were updated according to any changes in people’s health and wellbeing. People were supported to have their health needs met. We saw that people’s prescribed medicines were being stored securely and managed safely.

Staff understood people’s individual needs and supported people with dignity and respect. People were involved in decisions about their care and were supported to be as independent as they could be with buying food and meal preparation.

The registered managers continued to provide good leadership. Staff felt supported and there was open communication. The provider had a number of audits and quality assurance systems to help them understand the quality of the care and support people received and look at ways to continually improve the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Gold Care Services provides personal care to people who live in supported living accommodation. During our inspection we visited the head office to view some records and we went to the supported living accommodation with the registered manager to meet the people, who used the service, talk with staff and look at some of the records kept there.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service because some of the people who lived at this accommodation had complex needs. This meant they were not able to tell us their experiences. We spoke with the relatives of two people using the service who told us they were “very pleased” and “very happy” with the care their relatives received. We spoke with the registered manager and two staff members. One staff member told us “I like it here, I wouldn’t change a thing”.

During our inspection we saw staff always treated people with respect and dignity and people were supported to make informed decisions about how they lived their lives.

We saw that policies and procedures had been put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people using the service and we saw evidence of a quality assurance system regularly monitored by the provider.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service, because the people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences. We spoke to the relative of one person using the service. They told us “I am extremely pleased with the service. The registered provider and the staff have been super right from the start. The staff team are very knowledgeable about my relative’s condition. I met with the staff to discuss my relatives care and support needs and I was able to have some input into planning their care”.

We spoke to the local authorities reviewing officer. They told us they had reviewed the placements of three people using the service. They told us the relatives of all of the people they reviewed indicated they were very happy with the support their family members received and felt they were able to approach staff if they had any concerns. All of the people who use the service had good daytime activities and staff were aware of people’s individual needs.

We found that important information relating to the care and support needs for one person using the service was not readily available or accessible to staff. This could lead to this person receiving inappropriate care and support from staff.

Currently the service provides personal care to two people with learning disabilities.

None of these people had the capacity to tell us what their experiences were of Gold Care Services. Nonetheless, both people appeared to be well cared for, comfortable in their surroundings and happy with the staff team.

This inspection took place on 6 and 7 January 2015 and was announced. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. Gold Care Services Limited provides personal care for people who live in supported living accommodation. The people who use the service have a range of needs including learning disabilities some requiring 24 hour support. At the time of our inspection 10 people were using the service accommodated by three separate supported living units. At our last inspection in August 2013 the service was meeting the regulations inspected.

The service had two registered managers in post. Each manager was responsible for their own designated supported living units, one manager covered two sites while the other managed one. 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 knew how to keep people safe. Staff helped make sure people were safe at the service and in the community by looking at the risks they may face and taking steps to reduce those risks. People received their prescribed medicine at the right time.

Staff supported people to be as independent as they wanted to be and encouraged them to follow their own activities and interests .There were enough qualified and skilled staff at the service. Staffing was managed flexibly to suit people's needs so that people received their care and support when they needed it. Staff had access to the information, support and training they needed to do their jobs well.

During our inspection we observed that staff were caring and attentive to people. They showed people dignity and respect and had a good understanding of individual needs.

People were involved in decisions about their food and drink and were encouraged to be as independent as they could be with buying food and meal preparation.

Care records contained information about the healthcare and support people needed and people had access to healthcare professionals when they needed them.

Staff said the managers were supportive and listened to them. People who used the service were comfortable talking with staff and the managers. Relatives knew who to complain to if they needed to and people were given information about how to complain. However, not all information was given to people in an easy read pictorial format to help some people understand what they need to do if they felt unhappy or upset.

The provider had a number of audits and quality assurance systems to help them understand the quality of the care and support people received. Accidents and incidents were reported and examined. The manager and staff used information about quality of the service and incidents to improve the service.