Sue Ryder - Bixley provides a personal care service for people living in a supported living setting. At the time of our announced comprehensive inspection of 10 November 2017 there were four people living with neurological conditions and physical disabilities using this service. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to know that staff and people would be available.

At the last inspection of 28 October 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

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.

The service continued to provide a safe service to people. This included systems in place intended to minimise the risks to people, including from abuse, infection control, and with their medicines. Care workers were available when people needed care and support and the recruitment of care workers was done safely.

People were supported by care workers who were trained and supported to meet their needs. 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. Systems were in place to assess and meet people’s dietary and health needs, where required. The service worked with other organisations involved in people’s care to provide a consistent service.

Care workers had good relationships with people who used the service. People’s rights to privacy and independence were promoted and respected.

People were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People received care and support which was assessed, planned and delivered to meet their specific needs.

The service had a quality assurance system and shortfalls were identified and addressed. A complaints procedure was in place. The service used comments from people and incidents in the service to learn and use this learning to drive improvement. As a result, the quality of the service continued to improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on the 28 October 2015 and was announced.

Sue Ryder – Bixley is registered as a domiciliary care agency providing personal care support to four people living with neurological conditions and physical disabilities within a supported living environment.

There was 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.

People were well cared for, relaxed and comfortable with staff. Everyone who used the service was complimentary about the staff team and the quality of care they received. People were cared for by a motivated, caring, well trained staff team. Staff understood how to identify people at risk of abuse and aware of protocols for reporting any concerns they might have.

Staff had been provided with sufficient guidance and information within care records. Care and support plans were personalised regularly reviewed and accurately reflected people’s care and support needs including their likes and dislikes.

People’s likelihood of harm was reduced because risks to people’s health, welfare and safety had been assessed and risk assessments produced to guide staff in how to mitigate these risks and keep people safe from harm. Medicines were managed safely and the provider’s recruitment procedures demonstrated that they operated a safe and effective recruitment system.

The culture of the service was open, inclusive, empowering and enabled people to live as full a life as possible according to their choices, wishes and preferences. The management team provided effective leadership to the service and enabled people to air their views through regular care reviews, meetings and their involvement in the recruitment of new staff.

We talked with two of the four people who used the service. They told us that they liked living at Sue Ryder - Bixley and that they got on well with the staff who supported them with their personal care, to go out to do their personal shopping, to follow their favourite activities and to be part of the local community.

One person told us that the staff, “Are there if I need them.” Another person said, “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.”

We observed that the staff were attentive to people’s needs. Staff interacted with people in a friendly, respectful and professional manner. We saw that staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and made sure they sought their consent before supporting them.

We saw that the provider ensured equipment was provided to safeguard people and to promote their independence and that it was properly maintained.

We assessed the staffing levels at the service and found that people’s needs were met by sufficient numbers of appropriately trained and qualified staff. We also saw that the provider had systems in place to deal with complaints made about the service and that people were supported to make a complaint if they wanted to.

The people who used the service said that the staff treated them with respect and always involved them in decisions about their care. People also told us that they were supported to live independent lives as far as is reasonably practicable. One person commented, “The decision about what I want to do is always with me.”

People told us that they were consulted about all aspects of the running of the service and that they were asked for their opinion on how well it was run. The care plans we saw were person centred and contained detailed information about people’s physical needs and included information about how people liked to be addressed, their likes and dislikes and their daily routines.

People told us they had not needed to make a complaint nor had any worries.

But they believed that they would be listened to and that action would be taken immediately if they had concerns.

Staff were effectively trained and supervised; this meant that people were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard.