Sevasupport - Oldham is a community based service which provides supported living to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they provided care and support 24 hours a day to 33 people living in their own homes across 11 properties in Oldham. The service had a small outreach service in Oldham and was developing a similar service in Manchester. These services involved specialised calls of one hour or more to provide support such as socialisation and inclusion, access to the community or assistance to attend appointments.

This was the first inspection of the service since it registered in October 2015. It took place on the 4 October 2016 and was announced.

There was a registered manager in post who had been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry on a regulated activity since October 2015. 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.

One of the people we visited could not communicate verbally but indicated to us that they were happy. The other person we visited told us they were happy and safe being supported by the staff in their own home. The registered manager and the staff we met had a thorough understanding of safeguarding procedures. They were fully aware of their responsibilities with regards to protecting people from harm or improper treatment. Historic incidents of a safeguarding nature had been dealt with appropriately. Policies and procedures were in place to ensure the service was operated well.

The registered manager employed enough staff to ensure the service was run safely and effectively. There were no current vacancies for permanent staff. The registered manager had a rolling recruitment programme to build up a bank of staff to cover services in the event of staff absence. There was a robust recruitment process in place and we confirmed this process was followed through by examining staff records. We saw staff rotas were planned in advance and people received a consistent and reliable service.

Care records known as ‘Essential Support Guides’ were very person-centred. Individual care needs were assessed and the risks people faced in their daily lives were regularly reviewed and updated. Explanations of how to reduce risk and avoid incidents were in place to support the staff in the likelihood of an event occurring.

Accidents and incidents were recorded, investigated, reviewed and monitored by the service managers and overseen by the registered manager. The registered manager was aware of her responsibility to report certain incidents to external bodies, such as the local authority and CQC as necessary.

Medicines were safely managed and staff demonstrated that they followed best practice guidance. People were encouraged and supported to self-medicate whenever possible. Medicines were administered safely, timely and hygienically. Medicine Administration Records (MARs) were used to record any assistance given. We saw these were well maintained, accurate and up to date.

The provider had a thorough induction process in place and staff confirmed they had completed the induction and had shadowed more experience workers. Training in topics deemed mandatory by the provider had been undertaken. For example in safeguarding, safe handling of medicines, infection control, first aid and food hygiene. Specific training in dementia care and autism awareness had also been resourced for staff who worked with people with these needs. Formal staff supervision sessions, including a probationary period review had taken place as well as annual appraisals and regular informal discussions. The service managers were in daily contact with the staff through telephone, email and visits to the supported living pr