About the service:

Ambassador HomeCare Limited is a domiciliary care service. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community, including older people and people living with dementia. The service operates in the City of Lincoln and surrounding villages.

Not everyone using Ambassador HomeCare receives regulated activity; The Care Quality Commission (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 consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 34 people were receiving a personal care service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were protected against abuse and discrimination and their rights were upheld.

Staff received training and were supported to ensure they had the skills, knowledge and confidence they needed to perform their roles effectively.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff treated people with kindness and their dignity and privacy was respected.

People and their relatives were involved in reviewing their care and making any necessary changes.

A process was in place which ensured complaints could be raised. Concerns were acted upon and lessons were learned through positive communication.

The service was consistently managed, and the registered provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. Actions were taken, and improvements needed were made quickly when required.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (Published May 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At this inspection the service quality had been sustained and the service retained its rating of Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The inspection took place on 4 August and was announced.

Ambassador HomeCare Limited provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people receiving a total 570 hours of care a week.

At the time of our inspection there was 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.

Staff understood safeguarding issues and knew how to recognise and report any concerns in order to keep people safe from harm. People felt supported to take their medicines safely by staff who were competent to monitor them.

People were cared for by staff who were supported to undertake training to improve their knowledge and skills to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively. People had their healthcare needs identified and were able to access health care professionals such as their GP and dietician. Staff knew how to access emergency help when needed.

People and their relatives told us that staff were kind and caring and people were treated with dignity by staff who respected their choices, needs and preferences. Staff respected a person’s home, their personal belongings and their lifestyle choices.

People were supported to maintain their independence and maintain their everyday activities and pastimes. The registered provider had systems in place to prevent people from feeling isolated in their own home.

People, their relatives and staff said that they found the registered provider approachable and were well supported by them. People and their relatives were able to give their feedback on the service. The registered provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements.