This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing. It provides a service to older adults, younger adults with disabilities and children. Not everyone using Agincare UK Weymouth 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. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection there were 130 people receiving ‘personal care’.

This announced inspection took place on 28 and 30 November 2017 and 5 December. We gave the service three days’ notice of the inspection site visits. These days included a weekend. We gave the service notice to ensure the manager would be available and that people could be supported to make decisions about taking part in the inspection.

At our last inspection in June and July 2016 we identified a breach of regulation. This breach was in respect of how information was used to improve the safety and quality of the service. At this inspection we checked to see if the provider had made the improvements necessary to meet the requirements of the regulation. We found that information received was used effectively to ensure improvements to the safety and quality of the service people received.

There was a registered manager for the service. 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 were happy with their care. They felt supported to maintain their independence and were confident in the skills of the staff team. They told us staff were kind and cheerful.

Staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s care needs and spoke with confidence about the support people needed to meet these needs. They told us they felt supported in their roles and had taken training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills. There was a robust plan in place to ensure staff received refresher training as deemed necessary by the provider.

People felt safe. They were protected from harm because staff understood the risks people faced and how to reduce these risks. Measures to reduce risk reflected the person’s preferences. Staff also knew how to identify and respond to abuse.

People told us they received the care and support they needed. They also told us they were supported to maintain their health by staff including support to access health professionals when this was appropriated. People received their medicines as they were prescribed.

Where people had received end of life care feedback from relatives was consistent in its acknowledgement of the kindness and compassion of the staff team in ensuring their loved ones wishes and needs were met.

People described the support they received with food and drink as satisfactory or good and there were systems in place to ensure people had enough to eat and drink if this was necessary.

People had support, care and time from staff who had been safely recruited. People told us they usually received this support and care at times that suited them and we saw that efforts were made to accommodate people’s needs and preferences regarding the time of visits.

Staff understood how people consented to the care they provided and encouraged people to make decisions about their lives. Care plans reflected that care was being delivered within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

There were systems in place to ensure that the quality and safety of care people received was monitored and improved. People and staff contributed to these processes both formally and informally.

Agincare UK Weymouth is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes.154 people were receiving personal care at the time of our inspection. Most of these people were older adults with needs associated with physical disability, dementia or long term conditions. There were also a small number of younger adults and children with disabilities receiving care.

There was 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This was the first inspection since the service registered in September 2014.

Staff understood how people made choices about the care they received, and encouraged people to make decisions about their care. Care plans did not always reflect that care was being delivered within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. However, staff showed they understood the importance of enabling people to make their own decisions wherever possible and providing care that was in a person’s best interests.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality but these were not always used effectively and opportunities to improve the service people received were missed as a result.

People felt safe. They were protected from harm because staff understood the risks they faced and how to reduce these risks. However information about risk was not always used to review people’s care and this put people and staff at risk. Staff knew how to identify and respond to abuse; including how to access the contact details of agencies they should report concerns about people’s care to.

People’s medicines and creams were not administered safely. Recording was not accurate and we found examples of medicines not given without an explanation. There was an improvement plan in place to address this issue.

Care and treatment was mostly delivered in a way that met people’s individual needs and promoted their independence and dignity. Some people highlighted that staff were sometimes late and this could mean they were rushing. Staff kept accurate records about the care they provided and these records were used to review people’s care.

Staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s care needs and spoke with confidence about the care they provided to meet these needs. They were motivated to provide the best care they could and told us they felt supported in their roles. They had received training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills to do their job effectively.

People had access to health care professionals and were supported to maintain their health by staff. Staff understood changes in people’s health and shared the information necessary for people to receive safe care. Where people had their food and drink prepared by Agincare UK Weymouth staff they told us this was prepared well. People were left with access to drinks and food appropriately.

People were positive about the care they received and told us the staff were friendly and compassionate. Staff treated people and each other with respect and kindness throughout our inspection.

There was a breach of regulation relating to how the quality and safety of the service was monitored. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.