The Inspection took place on the 18 October 2017.

SAS Support and Solutions is registered to provide domiciliary care service which offers personal care, companionship and domestic help to support people living in their own home as well as people living in supported living accommodation. There were nine people currently using the service.

The service was safe. Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs consistently. People were supported to take their medication by staff who had received training to do so.

The service was effective. People were cared for and supported by staff who had received training to support people to meet their needs. The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to eat and drink enough to ensure they maintained a balanced diet and referrals to other health professionals were made when required.

The service was caring. Staff cared for people in an empathetic and kind manner. Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences of care. Staff always worked hard to promote people’s independence through encouraging and supporting people.

The service was responsive. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and also when there was a change in care needs. People were supported to follow their interests and participate in social activities. The registered manager responded to complaints received in a timely manner.

The service was well-led. The registered manager had systems in place to monitor and provide good care and these were reviewed on a regular basis.

The announced inspection took place on the 3, 4, 8 and 12 August 2016.

SAS Support and Solutions provides personal care in a supported living environment as well as personal care for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were twenty six people using the service. The majority of people living within the supported living service were independent and required limited support with personal care however there were a minority of individuals with more complex needs requiring more support than others.

The service is required to and did have a registered 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.

The service needed to develop more robust quality assurance systems. Although some processes were in place, effective monitoring and auditing systems were required to drive the improvements and ensure consistent, high quality, safe and effective care.

Care records in respect of people’s specific end of life, dietary, medication and moving and handling care did not adequately indicate people’s needs and wishes to mitigate risks to their health.

Insufficient members of staff meant people’s individual needs could not be consistently met within reasonable time frames.

Staff supported people to ensure they received access to healthcare services when required. Staff also worked with a range of health professionals, such as speech and language therapists and intensive support nurses, to implement care and support plans.

Management and staff understood their responsibilities and the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). In general people were supported to carry out their own daily interests independently or achieve them with the assistance of staff, if requested.

A robust recruitment process was in place and staff were employed upon completion of appropriate checks.

Staff were respectful and caring towards people ensuring privacy and dignity was valued. Care was provided in a way that intended to promote people’s independence and wellbeing.

At the time of our visit the provider was supporting nine adults with a learning disability to live independently within their own homes. These homes were clustered in groups of individual flats based at three different locations. We visited two of the locations during the inspection and the registered office.

We spoke with three people who used the service. Other people were unavailable as they were out in the community being supported to undertake meaningful activities. One person said, "This is a lovely place to live; it's much better than the last place I was in." Another person said, "The staff are really nice; I like living here." No one we spoke with raised any concerns.

We saw that support plans and risk assessments were informative and up to date. Staff we spoke with were aware of their contents, which supported them to deliver appropriate and safe care. Staff recruitment systems were robust and staff were supported to do their jobs properly through appropriate training and supervision.

The provider had a range of quality monitoring systems in place to ensure that care was being delivered appropriately by staff in line with individual care plans, and that people were satisfied with the service they were receiving.