The inspection took place on 28 February 2017 with the provider being given short notice of the visit to the office in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. The service was registered with the Commission in March 2015, and this was the first inspection of the service.

Balby Care and Home Services provide personal care to people living in their own homes. Its office is located in a business centre in Balby, on the outskirts of Doncaster. The agency mainly supports older people, including some people who are living with dementia. It also provides domestic services such as cleaning and shopping.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the time of our inspection there were 16 people receiving support with their personal care. We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experiences of using the agency. All the people we spoke with told us they were very happy with the service provided.

People’s needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and they told us they had been involved in formulating and updating care plans. The information contained in the care records we sampled was individualised and identified people’s needs and preferences, as well as any risks associated with their care and the environment they lived in.

We found people received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. They were supported by staff who delivered their care in line with their preferences. People were supported to maintain maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

Where people needed assistance taking their medication this was administered in a timely way by staff who had been trained to carry out this role.

The service employed enough staff to meet the needs of the people being supported. We saw people mainly had a core team of care staff who visited them on a regular basis. People who used the service praised the staff who supported them and raised no concerns about how their care was delivered.

A robust recruitment system helped the employer make safer recruitment decisions when employing new staff. We saw staff had received a structured induction and essential training at the beginning of their employment. This had been followed by additional and refresher training to enhance their knowledge and skills. Staff told us they felt very well supported by the management team.

The company had a complaints policy, which was provided to each person at the start of their care package. We found no concerns had been raised since the service was registered, but a system was in place to record and look into any complaints received.

The provider had systems in place to enable people to share their opinion of the service provided and check staff were following company polices correctly.