The inspection took place on the 31 August 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection, as this is a community based service where staff are often out during the day and we needed to make sure that the registered manager would be available to meet us.

The service is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. On the day of inspection the service was providing personal care to 23 people.

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.

Although we saw evidence of checks taking place and appropriate response to complaints we found the service lacked a formal structured process of quality assurance with few management systems and plans in place. This meant it was not easy for the registered manager to identify where improvements were required or where they were doing well. We recommended the service develops a management and quality assurance system, which will help them access and analyse information and data that could help improve their service.

However, we found people were cared for safely by staff who had been trained and understood how to protect people from harm or abuse. The registered manager followed safe recruitment practice and ensured all necessary recruitment checks had been completed before staff worked alone with people. People received their medicines on time and as prescribed. People told us they felt safe with the staff from Supporting Solutions.

People were very happy with how staff cared for them and felt they had the skills and knowledge to care for them effectively. Staff received the necessary training and guidance they required to care for individual needs. They understood the principles of mental capacity and consent and considered this when caring for people. People were supported to have regular meals and drinks of their choice and to access community healthcare services where required, to maintain their health and wellbeing.

The staff at Supporting Solutions were kind, compassionate and developed positive caring relationships with people, based on mutual respect and dignity. Staff were passionate about improving the quality of people’s lives and promoted their independence, choice and rights. People told us they were very happy with the care they experienced and repeatedly told us they would recommend the service to others.

Staff clearly knew people personally. They understood the individual needs of people and respected their preferences and ‘how they liked things done’. People contributed to their care plans and were involved in reviews of care when their needs changed. The registered manager regularly sought feedback on the quality of care and responded quickly to changing need.

People and staff told us there was visible and accountable management of the service and the registered manager was ‘always available’ for support or guidance. There were strong links with other health and social care services, particularly the district nurses, which enabled a holistic response to people’s needs. Staff were motivated to provide high quality care and to improve their practice.