Witham Valley Care Group – DCA is registered to provide personal care to people who experience learning disabilities and autism and who live in their own homes. The registered person’s office is located in the village of Norton Disney. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service. Two of the people received support related to the regulated activity of personal care.

Our announced inspection of the service was undertaken on 19 and 20 September 2017.

The last inspection took place on 10 September 2015. The result of the inspection was that the service was rated ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good.’

The service was owned by a limited company. At the time of this inspection it was still being managed by one of the registered persons who was also the registered manager. Registered managers like 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. In this report when we speak about both the company the registered manager and the registered person we sometimes refer to them as being, ‘The registered persons.’

The registered persons and staff continued to have a clear understanding of how to manage risks to keep people safe and protect them from avoidable harm.

The registered persons completed appropriate recruitment checks before any newly recruited staff commenced their employment. Staff received an introduction to their role. Staffing levels were monitored and kept flexible in order to meet peoples existing and changing needs.

The registered persons had ensured there were clear arrangements to help people to take their medicines when this was needed. The competency of staff to safely administer medicines had been maintained and was regularly assessed and reviewed.

People were involved in making decisions about how they wished to be supported when any additional help was needed for people to make decisions we found that the registered persons and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

Staff were caring and positive working relationships between staff and people who used the service and their relatives had been sustained. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained and the registered persons continued to work closely with a range of external health professional to ensure people’s on-going health needs were met. Confidential information was kept private.

People and their relatives understood how to raise any complaints or issues they had and were confident that if they raised any concerns the right actions would be taken to respond to and resolve them.

The registered persons continued to provide an open and inclusive culture within the service. People and their relatives had the opportunity share their views and opinions and were involved in planning and reviewing their care.

People and their families continued to be consulted about how best to develop the service and good team work was promoted by the registered persons. The registered persons maintained a range of quality checks and audits to monitor the service in order to keep identifying and making improvements to the overall services they provided.

We used a number of different ways to help us understand people’s experiences of the service. This was because people had complex needs, which meant that they were not able to tell us directly about their experiences.

We visited the agency’s office and met with the manager. We looked at records. These included care records and information about how the service operated.

We also met with a relative of one person who said, “The carers are superb. The manager is consistent and there is low staff turnover. It is so good to know and see how they (staff) have got to fully understand the needs of XXX.”

Another relative wrote to us regarding their view of the services provided saying, “Witham Valley provides an excellent service for XXX, and has done for three years. XXX is always clean and wearing nice clothes.”

We also visited one person where they lived together with the manager and spoke with two staff members who provided support.

We found the person was supported sensitively and their dignity maintained. Staff also encouraged and supported the person to take part in a wide range of meaningful activities.

Witham Valley Care Group – DCA is registered to provide personal care for people who experience learning disabilities and autism and who live in their own homes. The service’s registered office is located in the village of Norton Disney. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

There was a registered manager in post who was also the registered provider of the service. 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.

Staff were committed and caring in their approach to supporting people. Positive working relationships between staff and people who used the service and their relatives had been developed. These relationships were the basis on which services were provided. People were fully involved in making decisions about how they wished to be supported and how their care should be delivered. People's right to privacy and dignity was respected and maintained at all times.

Staff were recruited safely and were well trained and supported to undertake their roles. There were sufficient numbers of staff available who were deployed in the right way to meet people’s individual care needs.

Staff had a good understanding of how to manage risks and take any appropriate actions needed to make sure people were always protected from avoidable harm. Staff also knew how they would report any additional risks, concerns or incidents they identified in the right way.

The registered manager ensured there were consistent arrangements in place to help support people to take their medicines when this was needed. The competency of staff to safely administer medications was regularly assessed and reviewed and staff were up to date with their knowledge about the medicines each person needed.

The provider promoted an open and inclusive culture within the service. People and their relatives had the opportunity to regularly share their views and opinions and were involved in planning and reviewing their care.

People and their relatives understood how to raise any concerns or issues they had and were confident that if it was needed, the right actions would always be taken to resolve them.

The provider had a range of clear and effective audit and quality checks in place. Changes or improvements identified as needed were acted upon quickly to make sure the service was continually being developed in the way people wanted them to be.