This inspection took place on 21 and 25 September 2017. The inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second. We last inspected this service on 15 September 2015 and gave the home a rating of ‘Good’ in all areas and ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection we found the service remained ’Good’.

White Doves is registered to provide personal care to people within a supported living service. There were 31 people using the service at the time of our inspection. This included people with a learning disability and mental health needs. People required varying levels of support from the provider, with some having short care visits and other people had the support of one or more members of staff throughout the day and night.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager at the service.

The provider had taken over a new contract with the local authority in March 2017. This had led to an increase in the numbers of people they provided personal care to and the transfer of some staff from the previous provider. Most people and staff we spoke to felt this transition had been well managed by the provider and they were kept informed of changes and important updates.

People and their relatives told us they continued to feel safe, and staff treated them well. The management team and staff understood how to protect people they supported from abuse, and knew what procedures to follow to report any concerns.

There were enough staff to support people safely within their homes and to provide them with support whilst accessing the local community. Recruitment procedures made sure staff were of a suitable character to care for people.

Medicines were stored and administered safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. However we found some recording errors which the provider addressed immediately. People were supported to attend health care appointments when they needed to and received healthcare that supported them to maintain their wellbeing.

People and their relatives thought staff were kind and responsive to people’s needs, and people’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff supported people to maintain their independence as much as possible.

Management and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and DoLS, and supported people in line with these principles. People were able to make everyday decisions themselves which helped them to maintain their independence.

People continued to be supported to go on holiday and to access the local community when they wished. Activities, interests and hobbies were arranged according to people’s individual preferences, needs and abilities. People were encouraged to maintain links with friends and family.

People, their relatives and most staff, felt the management team were kind, supportive and promoted an open culture. Positive communication was encouraged and any identified concerns were acted upon by the management team and provider. People, relatives and staff were kept updated and informed about the recent change in provider with regular meetings.

Staff were supported by the management team through team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff felt valued and listened to by the management team and felt their training and induction supported them to meet the needs of people they supported.

People and relatives told us they knew how to make a complaint if they needed to and were confident concerns identified would be dealt with in a timely manner. The provider monitored complaints to identify any trends

This inspection took place on 15th September 2015. The inspection was announced 24 hours before to establish if people living at the service would be available to talk with us. This was the first time we had inspected this service and two inspectors were present.

White Doves is registered to provide personal care within a supported living service to a maximum of six people. There were five people using the service at the time of our inspection. This included people with a learning disability and mental health needs.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager at the service. We refer to the registered manager as the manager in the body of this report.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe at White Doves, and staff treated them well. The manager and staff understood how to protect people they supported from abuse, and knew what procedures to follow to report any concerns.

There were enough staff at White Doves to support people safely and provide people with support whilst out in the community. Recruitment procedures made sure staff were of a suitable character to care for people.

Medicines were stored and administered safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to attend health care appointments with health care professionals when they needed to and received healthcare that supported them to maintain their wellbeing.

People and their relatives thought staff were kind and responsive to people’s needs, and people’s privacy and dignity was respected.

Management and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and DoLS, and supported people in line with these principles. People were able to make everyday decisions themselves, which helped them to maintain their independence.

People were supported to go on holiday and to go out in their local community when they wished. Activities, interests and hobbies were arranged according to people’s individual preferences, needs and abilities. People who lived at White Doves were encouraged to maintain links with friends and family who visited them at the home when invited, and also have overnight stays at their relative’s homes.

Staff, people and their relatives felt the manager was kind, supportive and promoted an open culture within the home. Positive communication was encouraged, and any identified concerns were acted upon by the manager and provider. Staff were supported by the manager through regular team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff felt their training and induction supported them to meet the needs of people they cared for.

People told us they knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. The provider monitored complaints to identify any trends and patterns, and made changes to the service in response to complaints.

People were supported to develop the service they received by providing feedback about how the home was run. The provider acted on the feedback they received to improve people’s experiences of life at the home .There were other procedures in place to check the quality of care people received.