The inspection took place on 20 June 2018 and was announced.

Autumn Grove is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Autumn Grove is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to ‘adults with different needs, including dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. Autumn Grove registered with us in May 2017 and this was the first inspection of this service. Before providers are registered, part of our registration process is to check those providing care, are of suitable character and have effective systems and processes to provide people with a service that meets their needs. At the time of this inspection visit, 50 people received personal 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.

People felt safe using the service and staff understood how to protect people from abuse and harm. There were procedures to keep people safe and manage identified risks to people’s care,

People had a comprehensive assessment of their health and social care needs before they used the service. Care plans contained detailed information to enable people to receive appropriate care and support with their needs. People’s care needs were regularly reviewed. The registered manager and the provider were in regular contact with people, or their relatives, to check the care provided was what people needed and expected. People and their relatives told us staff were reliable and stayed for the time needed. People were treated with dignity and respect.

Where medicines were administered staff were trained and assessed as competent to do so safely. The provider had a recruitment process that had suitable checks in place to ensure that prior to staff starting work they were suitable to support people who used the service.

People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available for people when they started using the service. There was a system in place to log and action any complaints or concerns that people may have.

Staff felt they had good training and their competencies and skills were continuously checked. Staff were supervised and supported in their roles. People were assisted to access health services when needed and staff worked well with other health and social care professionals.

The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) were followed by the registered manager and staff. People’s decisions and choices were respected and people felt involved in their care. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff sought permission before assisting them.

There were governance systems in place that provided the registered manager with an overview of areas such as care records, medicine records and call times. A new system to improve the governance of the service was being developed and implemented by the provider.