Midway Care Midway Support Services provides personal care for younger adults with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder or mental health needs. People receive support in their own homes or supported living services. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 27 people. This is the first time the service was inspected since it was registered in September 2016.

There was a registered manager in place who was present during our 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.

Prior to our inspection visit we had received several notifications that people had been put at risk of harm. We received information of concern regarding medicines, staff behaviour, suitability of agency staff and how people were supported from the risks associated with their specific conditions. We found that the provider was taking effective action to keep people safe and minimise any risks of harm.

People were protected from avoidable harm by staff who knew how to protect them from the risk of abuse. There were enough suitable staff to meet people’s care needs and keep them safe. Assessments had been undertaken to identify the support people required to take their medicines safely. Medicines were administered by staff who were trained to do so.

The needs of people were met consistently by staff who had the right competencies, knowledge and skills. Staff felt confident they could meet the needs of the people they were supporting. People were supported in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff offered people choices and respected their decisions. When relatives were involved in making decisions about peoples care, further action was required by the provider to identify they had the legal authority to do so. People had been supported to eat meals they liked and achieve a healthy body weight when they wanted. People were supported by a variety of mental and physical health professionals including the provider’s other services which supported people whose behaviour could challenge.

People were supported by regular staff who knew and understood their likes and preferences. Staff understood peoples preferred communication styles so people would be supported to express their views and feelings. Staff respected peoples lifestyle choices and helped them to explore and recognise their individual personalities.

Staff knew the activities that people enjoyed and had supported people to engage in things they liked. There was a range of ways for people to feed back their experience of the care they received and any concerns they may have. People’s experiences were used to improve the service they received.

The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities to the commission. Action had been taken to ensure the service would be compliant when changes to how the service is inspected are introduced in the near future. The provider monitored the quality of care people received and drove a culture of continual improvement.