The inspection took place on 17 August 2016 and was unannounced.

The service provides personal care to people living either in their own home or the home of a family member. At the time of the inspection approximately 40 people used the service and a registered manager was 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe and that they felt safe because of the way staff supported them. People received the support they wanted at the times agreed as there were enough staff able to attend to all the calls they were expected to attend. How people received their medicines was reviewed regularly to check that people received their medicine correctly and that staff understood how to help people to manage their medicines in ways which helped them stay as safe as possible.

People received care from care staff they felt confident around and who had received training to do the job. Training was reviewed regularly so that staff could access as much training as possible and develop the skills they needed to care for people. Staff had received training so they knew how to promote people’s rights.

People chose which meals they wanted prepared for them and were supported to eat and drink enough to keep them healthy. Staff supported people to access help from other professionals such as the GP or district nurse where this was appropriate.

People liked the staff that cared for them and valued their support. Care staff involved people in decisions about their care by talking with them to understand how they wanted to be cared for.

People received care which took into account their need for privacy and dignity. Staff knew what actions to take so people’s privacy and dignity were protected.

People were aware of how to raise complaints and people felt they could speak to the staff in the office or the manager. Complaints reviewed demonstrated that there was a system in place for acknowledging, reviewing and responding to complaints.

People’s care and the quality of their care was reviewed regularly and changes made where to further develop the quality of the service. The care being delivered was also reviewed by the registered provider who had a day to day involvement in the running of the business. The registered manager and registered provider worked in close partnership to ensure the running of the service met with the registered provider’s expectations and the registered provider was assured of the standard of care being delivered.