The Inspection took place on 10, 17 and 29 November 2016 and 2 and 19 December 2016 and was unannounced.

Ashley Care is registered to provide personal care (often called domiciliary care) to people in their own homes in and around the Southend on Sea area. The service caters for adults of all ages including people living with dementia and/or mental health needs. They provide various services such as short term Reablement, A home again service (HAS) which provides people with immediate cover on return from hospital for up to 72 hours or until a longer term provider can be found and mainstream care.

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.

Although people generally received their care and support in a way that ensured their safety and welfare there were not always enough care staff to support people when their regular care staff were not working. Improvements were in progress as the registered manager/provider had taken steps to remedy this and people confirmed there had been recent improvements to their evening and weekend calls when their regular care staff were not working. Although some people felt the service did not always respond appropriately to their concerns about relief care staff being late and missing calls most people told us, and the records confirmed that people’s concerns and complaints had been listened to and acted upon.

Staff understood how to protect people from the risk of harm. They had been trained in safeguarding people and had access to guidance and information to support them with the process. Risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed and the service had care plans and risk assessments in place to ensure people were cared for safely. The service had a robust recruitment process and staff had been safely recruited to protect vulnerable people. Where the service managed people’s medication they received it as prescribed.

The registered manager/provider and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Staff were well trained and supported to enable them to meet people’s assessed needs. Advocacy services were available should people need them.

Where people were supported with their meals they were given sufficient food and drink to meet their individual needs. People were supported when necessary to obtain healthcare advice and to maintain their health. People said their regular care staff were kind, caring and thoughtful, knew them well and treated them with respect and their dignity was maintained. Although people had different views about relief care staff saying they were often rushed they said that improvements had been made recently.

People’s needs had been assessed and their care plans gave staff the information they needed to meet people’s needs and preferences and to care for them safely. They were kept involved in their care and were able to express their views and opinions on a regular basis.

There was an effective system in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and to drive improvements.