This inspection took place on the 26 and 28 September 2018 and was announced.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, people who may be living with dementia and younger adults. At the time of this inspection the agency provided personal care to 16 people.

Not everyone using APC Care Limited 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 was no 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. A manager had recently joined the agency and had applied to us to become the registered manager for the agency. We had received their application to register with us.

We did not find any breaches of regulations at this inspection but have rated the ‘Well-led’ key question as ‘Requires improvement’ due to the historic and current lack of continuity in the management of the service which had resulted in some people experiencing an inconsistent service.

People were safeguarded by a staff team with awareness and understanding of how to report concerns of abuse to appropriate professionals. People were given medicines safely and records were held of the care provided to people. The provider engaged with healthcare professionals as appropriate.

People were involved in the planning of their care and independence was promoted where possible. Consent was sought from people before services were provided to them. Risks to people were assessed and action taken to mitigate risk. The risks of infection were reduced with infection control measures which included the appropriate use of protective equipment such as gloves and aprons. There were enough staff to provide support to people. The care manager was recruiting additional staff to ensure that people received a consistent service from regular staff.

Care staff received training and support from the management team to support them in their roles. Care staff were observed to provide care safely and appropriately to people. Privacy and dignity was maintained by caring and dedicated staff.

People and care staff views were sought regarding the service provided and people were confident to use the complaints process when this may be required. Complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.

Improvements had been made to the quality and safety of the service following the termination of the former franchise contract.

Caremark (Eastbourne and Wealdon) provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our visit the service supported 27 people with personal care and employed 18 care workers.

We visited the offices of Caremark (Eastbourne and Wealdon) on 7 December 2016. We told the provider 48 hours before the visit we were coming so they could arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.

At the time of our visit the care manager had applied to become the registered manager. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service and care workers understood how to protect people from abuse and keep them safe. People told us they received care from familiar staff who arrived at the expected time and completed the required tasks.

There were enough suitably trained care workers to deliver care and support to people. The provider checked the suitability of care workers to work with people who used the service during their recruitment.

Care workers received an induction when they started working for the service and completed regular training to support them in meeting people's needs effectively.

Care workers were knowledgeable about people's needs. The information contained in people's care plans and risk assessments helped them to provide safe care in a way people preferred.

People met on a regular basis with managers to plan and review their care. There were processes to minimise risks associated with people's care. These included risk assessments and safe systems to manage people's medicines. Care workers had a good understanding of these processes.

The provider understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). Care staff completed training to develop an increased knowledge and understanding of the MCA. Care staff recognised the importance of gaining people's consent before they provided care.

People told us care workers showed them kindness and they had the correct skills and experience to provide the care and support they required. People received care from staff who were respectful and ensured people's privacy and dignity was maintained.

People knew how to complain and said that the management team listened to them and responded promptly to their concerns. Staff felt supported to do their work and people felt able to contact the management team at any time.

There were systems to monitor and review the quality of service and understand the experiences of people who used the service.