Apex Prime Care Newhaven is a domiciliary care service based in Newhaven and covers the areas of Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven. The service provides support and personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service were supporting 183 people with a variety of health and social needs.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 13 and 21 July 2017 and was announced. It was the first inspection to be carried out since the service was taken over by Apex Prime Care in October 2016.

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.

There were some areas of quality assurance where further development was needed and we made a recommendation about monitoring documentation.

People told us they had continuity of carers. They said staff arrived on time and stayed for their allocated time. They told us staff always completed the tasks required of them along with any additional requests. For example, one person told us “They are nice girls, make the effort and always ask if I need anything.”

People told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. They said they were looked after well and staff listened to them. A relative told us, “Staff are polite and have a good attitude to their work.” People knew how to complain if they needed to.

There were good systems for the management of medicines. These ensured people received support in a safe way. There was information in care plans about how people liked to take their medicines. Care staff had received training on medicines and there were systems to monitor their competency in this area.

Staff attended regular supervision meetings and told us they were very well supported by the management of the agency. Spot checks were carried out to monitor staff performance. Staff meetings were used to ensure staff were kept up to date and to hear their views on day to day issues. Staff attended regular training to ensure they could meet people’s needs. There was a thorough induction to the service and staff felt confident to meet people’s needs before they worked independently.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA and DoLS are regulations that have to be followed to ensure people who cannot make decisions for themselves are protected. They also ensured people were not having their freedom restricted or deprived unnecessarily.

Care plans gave staff detailed advice and guidance on how to meet people’s needs. People told us they had been involved as part of the process. Care plans were reviewed regularly and as and when people’s needs changed. If professional advice and support was sought then this was included within the documentation. Feedback from professionals who had contact with the agency was very positive. One professional told us “Staff are pleasant, they enjoy what they do and they are well supported by management.”

Risk assessments were carried out in relation to people’s homes and to their individual needs and where necessary actions were taken to mitigate risks to reduce the risk of accidents or injuries.