The inspection took place on 13 July 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides a domiciliary service and we wanted to make sure that staff would be available. We made telephone calls to people who receive care from the service to obtain their views on 15 July 2016. The last inspection of the service took place on 5 December 2013 and the provider was complaint in all areas inspected.

ASRA – Smethwick is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service currently provides care to 19 people.

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.

People were supported by staff who understood how to report abuse and manage risks to keep people safe.

People had access to regular carers who had undergone appropriate recruitment checks to ensure they were safe to work. Staff had access to regular training and supervision to support them in their role.

People were supported with their medication in a safe way by staff who had been appropriately trained.

Staff were aware of how to ensure people had their rights upheld in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff supported people with meals where required and supported people to access healthcare services when needed.

Staff had a kind and caring approach and treated people with dignity. Where possible, staff supported people to maintain their independence.

People were involved in the assessment and review of their care. Staff knew people well and understood their preferences with regards to their care.

There were appropriate complaints procedures in place and where complaints were made, these were resolved to the satisfaction of the person making the complaint.

People and staff spoke positively about the leadership of the agency and felt the service was well led. Staff felt supported in their role and were comfortable in raising concerns where needed.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People were supported to provide feedback on their experience of the care provided.

The service provided is mainly for the Asian community. During our visit, we spoke with three people using the service, three staff, the manager and the provider. We used an interpreter to seek the views of the people using the service.

All three people spoken with were happy with the service provided. People had individual care plans that they had agreed to. One person using the service told us, “Staff are very good kind and respectful to me”. Another person told us, “They respect the choice I make about my care’’.

Staff received a range of training so that they had up to date knowledge and skills in order to support the people receiving a service.

The provider had clear procedures in place to identify and respond to suspicions of abuse to ensure people were protected against abuse.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Improvements were made by listening to the views of people using the service, their relatives and taking the appropriate actions.

We received two anonymous concerns within a short space of time. These related to staff training and recruitment and selection. Some of the information was not about a regulated activity under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and we therefore shared this with other professionals so that they could take appropriate action.

We did not speak to people who use the service directly for this review.

On the day of our visit there were 13 people using the service. We spoke with four people using the service, three staff, the manager and the provider. All the people we spoke with told us they were happy with the service provided to them. One person told us staff are on time, flexible and reliable.

We found that people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. This meant staff had the information they needed to meet peoples care needs.

People’s care and health needs were planned and met in a personalised way. All staff spoken with told us they had the information they needed to care for people safely.

Staff were clear about the action to take should they become aware of an allegation of abuse. All four people spoken with told us they felt secure and knew who to tell if they had concerns and were confident that these would be acted upon.

Staff spoken with told us they felt supported by the manager, and had regular training opportunities. This meant staff had the skills to care for people safely.

There were systems in place to monitor how the service was run, and action was taken where feedback from the people using the service would improve the service provided to them.

We found that clear systems were in place to investigate and respond to people's concerns.