The inspection took place on 27 October 2016 and was announced.

The service provided personal care to people living in their own homes. People received support through scheduled care visits or live- in care. On the day of our inspection the service was supporting 53 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.

People's care records did not always contain information relating to people's capacity where it was required. This was not in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We have made a recommendation to the provider about MCA.

The registered manager promoted a caring culture that was reflected in the comments made by people and the attitude of staff. Staff felt valued and well supported. The registered manager was approachable and knew people well.

Staff received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs and had access to development opportunities.

Staff understood their responsibilities to report concerns relating to abuse of vulnerable people and where any concerns were raised action had been taken to ensure people were safe. Where risks were identified in relation to people’s care needs there were plans in place to manage the risks. People were supported by safe procedures to ensure they received their medicines as prescribed.

There were systems in place to ensure care calls were scheduled and to monitor for late and missed visits. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. People told us they had not received rotas regularly but were aware this was due to the introduction of a new scheduling system.

People’s changing needs were identified and reflected in their care plans. People were supported to access health professionals and advice and guidance followed.

Staff understood the importance of promoting independence and we heard many examples of the impact this had on people. Staff respected people’s dignity and found ways to ensure people were able to have privacy when they were supported with personal care.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and action was taken to improve where issues were identified.

People who used the service told us they were happy with the care provided. They were positive about the staff and the way they were supported by them.

We looked at the medication records and saw the staff team had reviewed their procedures and risk assessments.

There were sufficient systems to monitor the quality of the care provided by the service. This meant the staff team could be assured they were meeting people's needs effectively.

People who used the service told us they were happy with the care provided. They told us the staff respected their privacy and dignity when delivering personal care.

People said they were involved in decisions about their care. People we talked with were positive about the staff and the way they were supported by them.

We saw there was an effective system to ensure staff received frequent supervision to assist them care for people safely.

We looked at the medication records saw the staff team did not always complete an accurate record of the medication taken by people who used the service.

There were not sufficient systems to monitor the quality of the care provided by the service. This meant the staff team could not be assured they were meeting people’s needs effectively.

We met with people at their home, read people's responses to the most recent survey and spoke to staff members. One person told us that “I like the staff. They are kind". One person who responded to the questionnaire sent out by the service commented ‘I couldn’t do with out the friendly and considerate carers’. Another person stated ‘I have recommended them to all my friends’.

We read other surveys completed by people who use the service and these expressed some concerns. For example, one person wrote that they wanted carers to stay longer at their home to assist with personal care. The manager told us that she visited this person to resolve the issues. She told us " I know every person we give a service to. It’s important that they are happy. If people tell us they are unhappy with our service then I always visit them to try and sort it out ".

People described the staff using various terms such as “excellent” and “kind”.

A member of staff told us “this is the best organisation I have worked for".