This inspection took place on 23and 24 April 2018 and was announced to ensure someone would be present at the service to provide us with any information we needed to support the inspection process. This was the first inspection since the service was registered with the Care Quality Commission in November 2015.

Abney & Baker (Bath) Limited is a domiciliary care service providing support for people living in their homes who may need support with aspects of their daily living.

At the time of the inspection, 47 people were receiving care and support from the service. Not everyone using Abney & Baker (Bath) Limited receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

Effective recruitment procedures were followed to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work in the home.

People received their medicines when they needed them from staff that had been trained and had their competency checked.

Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others.

People were kept safe from abuse and harm and staff knew how to report any suspicions around abuse. Staff understood best practice for reducing the risk of infection.

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.

Staff received effective training to meet people's needs. An induction and training programme was in place for all staff.

Assessments were carried out to assess people's needs and preferences prior to them receiving a service. This meant that care outcomes were planned and staff understood what support each person required.

People were supported with their healthcare and nutritional needs as appropriate.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion in their day-to-day support. Staff knew people's needs well and people told us they valued and liked their support staff.

People and their relatives were consulted as part of the person centred planning process and their views were acted upon.

People's dignity and privacy was respected and upheld and staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible.

Care and support was planned and personalised to each person, which ensured they were able to make choices about their daily lives.

People had access to a complaints procedure and were confident any concerns would be taken seriously and acted upon.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service, which included seeking and responding to feedback from people and their relatives in relation to the standard of care and support.