The inspection took place on 24 November 2016 with the provider being given short notice of the visit to the office in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. The service was re-registered with the Commission in June 2016 as the provider changed to a limited company, so this was the first inspection of the service under the new registration.

Ace Social Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Its office is based near the centre of Maltby. The agency mainly supports older people, including some people who are living with dementia, and younger people with a physical disability.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service. We spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service and three relatives. When we asked them about their experiences of using the agency they told us they were happy with the service provided. We saw people had a team of care staff who visited them on a regular basis.

We found the service employed enough staff to meet the needs of the people being supported. Staff had completed various training to meet people’s needs, but staff support sessions were not always provided in line with the company policy. Overall the system for recruiting new staff helped to ensure staff were employed with all of the required employment checks, but there was some inconsistency in records completed. People who used the service praised the staff who supported them and raised no concerns about how their care was delivered.

We found people received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Their needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and where possible they, and their relatives, had been involved in formulating their care plans. Care records sampled identified people’s needs and preferences, as well as any risks associated with their care and the environment they lived in.

Where people needed assistance taking their medication this was administered in a timely way by staff who had been trained to carry out this role.

People were provided with information about how to raise a concern and how it would be addressed. The people we spoke with told us they were confident that any concerns they raised would be dealt with promptly.

The registered manager had a clear oversight of the service, and of the people who were using it. People were encouraged to share their views about the quality of the care provided. Quality assurance systems had been developed to monitor how the service operated and identify areas for improvement.