The inspection took place on 26 June 2018. Livability Southend is a domiciliary care agency which offers personal care and supported living. At the time of our inspection there was 5 people using the service. At our last inspection in September 2015 Livability Southend was known as Barnabas House. The service provided has remained the same but now being provided by a different provider this being Livability.

This service provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service did not have a registered manager and was being overseen by the locality manager who is a registered manager in a sister service. Recruitment was underway for a new manager. 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.

Staff delivered support effectively and care was provided in a way that intended to promote people’s independence and wellbeing, whilst people’s safety was ensured. Staff were recruited and employed upon completion of appropriate checks as part of a robust recruitment process. Sufficient numbers of staff enabled people’s individual needs were met. Qualified staff dispensed medications and monitored people’s health satisfactorily.

Staff understood their responsibilities and how to keep people safe. People’s rights were also protected because management and staff understood the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The locality manager and staff ensured access to healthcare services were readily available to people and worked with a range of healthcare professionals, such as social workers, community mental health nurses and GPs to implement care and support plans.

Staff were respectful and compassionate towards people ensuring privacy and dignity was valued. People were supported in a person-centred way by staff who understood their roles in relation to encouraging independence whilst mitigating potential risks. People were supported to identify their own interests and pursue them with the assistance of staff. Person centred social activities took place within the service as well as in the community.

Systems were in place to make sure that people’s views were gathered. These included regular meetings, direct interactions with people and questionnaires being distributed to people, relatives and healthcare professionals. A complaints procedure was in place and had been implemented appropriately by the management team.

The service was assisted to run effectively using quality monitoring audits the locality manager carried out, which identified any improvements needed.