Adico Care provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection Adico Care were providing personal care to 45 people.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a manager in post who had started the process to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. The manager had completed their interview with CQC and was awaiting their registration.

People felt safe, happy and well looked after. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people from abuse and knew how to report concerns, both internally and externally.

Safe and effective recruitment practices were followed to help ensure that all staff were suitably qualified and experienced. Arrangements were in place to ensure there were sufficient numbers of suitable staff available at all times to meet people’s individual needs.

Trained staff helped people to take their medicines safely and at the right time. Identified and potential risks to people’s health and well-being were reviewed and managed effectively.

People and relatives were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of staff. They received training and refresher updates relevant to their roles and had regular supervision meetings to discuss and review their development and performance.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to health and social care professionals when necessary. Where required they were supported to eat a healthy balanced diet that met their individual needs.

Staff obtained people’s consent before providing personal care and support, which they did in a kind and compassionate way.

Staff had developed positive and caring relationships with the people they cared for. People were involved in the planning, delivery and reviews of the care and support provided. The confidentiality of information held about their medical and personal histories was securely maintained.

Care was provided in a way that promoted people’s dignity and respected their privacy. People received personalised care and support that met their needs and took account of their preferences. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s background histories, preferences, routines and personal circumstances.

People were supported to pursue social interests at home and in the community.

Complaints were recorded and responded to in line with the service policy.

People, relatives and staff were complimentary about the manager and how the service was run and operated.

We undertook an announced inspection of Adico Care 23 November 2015. We told the provider two working days before our visit that we would be coming to ensure we could access the information we needed.

Adico Care provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 46 people used the services of Adico Care with 34 people receiving personal care. Most people who used the service funded their own care privately or through direct payments.

This was the first New Approach Comprehensive inspection of Adico Care. We undertook a focused inspection in March 2015 in response to concerns raised with us. We asked the provider to take action to make improvements in relation to their recruitment procedures and at this inspection we found this action had been completed.

The service had 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 told us that they felt safe and secure when receiving care. Staff were knowledgeable in recognising signs of potential abuse and understood the relevant reporting procedures. Assessments were undertaken to assess any risks to people who received a service and to the staff who supported them. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s individual support and care needs at all times, including during the night and at weekends. People received support from staff to enable them to take their medicines.

People received their care and support from a staff team that had a full understanding of people’s care needs and the skills and knowledge to meet them. People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was always respected.

People received care and support that was based on their individual needs and preferences. People’s care and support package was amended as necessary to meet their changing needs. People who used the service felt confident to raise any concerns and were confident that they would be managed appropriately.

The registered manager was committed to continuous learning for themselves and for the staff team. Staff said that they were fully supported by the registered manager and received the training and supervision necessary to enable them to provide safe and effective support for people. People’s views about the service provision were gathered regularly to help the provider and registered manager assure themselves that the service they provided was safe and was meeting people’s needs.

We undertook an announced inspection of Adico Care 17 March 2015. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming to make sure that the people we needed to speak with were available.

Adico Care provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 40 people were receiving a personal care service. Most people who used the service funded their own care privately or through direct payments.

The service had 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.

This was the first inspection of Adico Care since registration at this location in October 2014. Whilst we found there were some areas of the service provision that were not fully meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 it was clear that the provider and manager were working in partnership with external agencies to provide safe care for people.

People were kept safe and free from harm. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. People received their medicines from staff who had been trained to administer medicines safely. However, the manager did not operate robust recruitment procedures.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and to report on what we find.

People received support to access to healthcare professionals such as GP’s and mental health specialists when needed. We found that people received support to eat and drink and were supported by a staff team who had the necessary skills to provide safe and effective care. People told us that staff treated them with warmth, dignity and respect. Relatives were also positive about the care and support provided.

People and their relatives were positive about the staff team and said that staff were respectful of people’s privacy and maintained their dignity. We received mixed feedback from people about the consistency of care staff allocated to them. Some people had regular staff however others had experienced many changes of care staff.

Staff supported people to attend health appointments and social events which reduced the risk of them becoming socially isolated. People who used the service and their relatives were involved in developing and reviewing their care plans and relatives told us they had regular contact with staff and the manager of the service. People who used the service and their relatives told us they were aware of how to make a complaint and that they felt comfortable to contact the manager if they had any concerns.

Staff members were always able to access guidance or support either at the office or by the out of hours on call telephone. The manager regularly spoke with people to ensure they were happy with the service they received. The provider had not undertaken any quality monitoring of the service at the time of this inspection however, was in the process of sourcing external support to do so.

At this inspection we found the service to be in breach of Regulation 21 of the Health and Social care Act 2008 (Regulated activities) Regulations 2010 which corresponds to regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report