About the service: Midland Mencap is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own homes. Not everyone using Midland Mencap receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, there were 109 people receiving the regulated activity.

The service also provided a carers emergency response service (CERS). This provided a back up service to carers to ensure the person they cared for was given support in the case of an emergency. For example, if the carer was admitted to hospital or had another urgent appointment.

People’s experience of using this service: People were at the heart of Midland Mencap, and were encouraged and supported to be active participants in the development of the service. The service was an important part of the local community and there was a strong emphasis on continuous improvement.

People told us they received a good service and felt safe. Accidents and incidents were recorded and investigated, and risk assessments were in place. The registered manager understood their responsibilities about safeguarding and staff had been appropriately trained. Arrangements were in place for the safe administration of medicines.

There were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of people. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place, and carried out relevant vetting checks when they employed staff. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions and appraisals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible.

The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people were aware of how to make a complaint.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Good (April 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection. It was scheduled based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 11 February 2016 and was announced. This was the first inspection of this service since it had registered in its current location. Midland Mencap provided a personal care service to 100 people living in their own home. The people using the service all had a Learning Disability. The service was registered to provide support to both adults and children.

There was a registered manager in post. They were present throughout the inspection. 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.

There were systems and checks in place which had been effective at ensuring people received a safe service. People were supported by adequate numbers of staff that they knew and liked. The staff employed had been subject to robust checks.

People who required help to take their medicines were supported by staff who had been trained and who had the skills to do this safely.

Staff received an induction, training and the chance to shadow more experienced members of the staff team before being expected to provide care themselves. This meant staff and people using the service had the chance to get to know each other, and both parties could be confident the support would meet the person’s needs.

Some people using this service needed support to do food shopping and help to prepare food and drinks. People told us they were happy with the support they were given.

People had been supported to access healthcare when they needed it. Staff were aware of and able to describe people’s healthcare needs and how they supported people to maintain good health.

People we spoke with and their relatives told us about the kind and compassionate way staff supported them. People told us they enjoyed chatting with staff, and were often able to have a laugh together.

The provider had a complaints procedure, and any concerns raised were subject to investigation. People we spoke with told us they had rarely been required to use this process as issues could be sorted out quickly and locally with their care staff.

When required people received support to undertake activities and to socialise. People told us about some of the places they had chosen to visit and holidays they had been able to take with the support of the agencies staff.

The agency was well led. There was a registered manager who was aware of her responsibilities to provide care that would meet people’s needs and which complied with the requirements of the law.