This inspection took place on 1 and 2 September 2016 and was announced. We gave the registered provider ‘48 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is a community based service and we needed to be sure the office would be staffed and people would be available in their homes to speak with us. This is the first time the service has been inspected since it was registered on 3 February 2015.

Pathways to Independence is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. This includes care and support for people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection the service provided personal care services to four people. One of which received 24 hour support.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 said they were happy with the support they received and felt safe. Staff showed a good understanding of safeguarding adults and were confident in how to keep people safe.

Medicines were managed safely, effectively and in a way which reflected people’s individual needs. All records were up to date and fully completed, with medicine audits being carried out regularly.

Staffing levels were consistent with people’s needs. Staff were recruited in a safe and consistent manner with all appropriate checks carried out.

Accidents and incidents were recorded with details of any action taken to deal with the issue.

Staff had up to date training in mandatory areas and either had completed, or were in the process of completing the care certificate. Staff felt supported in their roles and received regular supervisions as well as annual appraisals.

The service provided personalised support to each individual. People had personalised care plans in place that included information around their preferences. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of each person and knew how to support them in a way that met their specific needs.

People had access to a range of health and social care professionals when required, including GP’s, consultant psychiatrists, psychologists, the challenging behaviour team and social workers.

People and relatives knew how to raise concerns if they were unhappy and were confident their complaints would be investigated and actioned.

The registered provider had quality assurance arrangements in place to regularly assess the quality and safety of the service provided. They were effective in identifying issues and required improvements.