This announced inspection took place on 31 August 2017. This was the first inspection since the service was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July 2016.

Recovery Support Limited is a specialist mental health service which provides personal care and support to adults living in their own homes. The aim of the service is to promote recovery and well-being. At the time of this inspection there were 30 people using the service.

The provider had a registered manager in place as required by the conditions of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 told us they had no concerns about their safety when they received support from staff employed by Recovery Support Limited. They told us they always received support from a consistent staff team who treated them with respect and promoted their recovery and independence.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were aware of the procedure to follow should they witness or suspect abuse. They told us they would also be confident to report any poor practice they observed from colleagues and were confident their concerns would be taken seriously by the registered manager.

Improvements needed to be made to the recruitment process to ensure any gaps in an applicants’ employment history were identified and explanations properly recorded.

People who received support from staff to take their prescribed medicines told us they had no concerns about this. However, we saw audits of medication administration records (MARs) had not always been sufficiently robust to identify when these records had not been fully completed.

Risk assessments were in place in relation to each individual’s mental health needs as well as any environmental risks; these helped to protect the health and welfare of people who used the service and staff. Arrangements were in place to help ensure the prevention and control of infection.

Staff told us they received the induction, training and supervision they needed to be able to deliver safe and effective care. The induction programme in place included training in safeguarding, mental health awareness including the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, health and safety and complaints handling as well as information about the company ethos and the provider’s expectations of staff. Staff were also required to complete a period of shadowing more experienced staff before they were allowed to work independently without close supervision.

The provider was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Staff were able to tell us how they supported people to make their own decisions and choices.

Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and goals. They demonstrated a commitment to providing high quality care which was personalised and tailored to the needs of each individual. People who used the service told us they were able to make changes to their support plan as their recovery progressed.

There were opportunities for people who used the service to comment on the support they received. We noted the responses in the recent satisfaction survey were all very positive. A number of compliments about the professionalism and positive impact of the service had also been received from relatives and professionals involved in people’s care.

Staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed working in the service and that the registered manager was supportive and approachable. Regular staff meetings meant that staff were able to make suggestions about how the service could be improved. Staff told us their views were always listened to.

There were systems in place to monitor the qual