This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to adults. At the time of this announced inspection of 7 March 2018 there were 60 people who used the service. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of our inspection to make sure that someone was available during the inspection.

At our last inspection of 23 September 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. However we have rated the key question Caring as Outstanding. This is because without exception people and relatives told us about the caring and compassionate care that they received. The care that people received was designed to demonstrate to people that they mattered. People talked about how their views and comments were listened to and acted on. The ways that people’s care was planned for and met demonstrated the exceptionally caring service provided.

At our last inspection safe was rated as Requires Improvement, and there was a breach of Regulation 12; Safe care and treatment of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because the service had not retained the information received from the pharmacy with people's monitored dosage system blister packs. At this inspection we found that the service was no longer in breach of the Regulation. There were systems in place to guide care workers about the types of medicines people had.

There was registered manager in post, who was also a director. 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.

The service provided a safe service to people. This included systems designed to minimise the risks to people, including from abuse. The service ensured there were sufficient care workers to cover people’s planned care visits. Recruitment of care workers was completed safely. Where people required support with their medicines, this was carried out in a safe way. There were infection control procedures in place to guide care workers in how to minimise the risks of cross infection.

People’s needs were met by care workers who were trained and supported. The service understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2015 and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care workers cared for them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Where people required support with their dietary needs, systems were in place to support them. People were supported to have access to health professionals where needed. The service worked with other organisations involved in people’s care to provide a consistent service.

People received care and support which was assessed, planned and delivered to meet their individual needs. There were systems in place to support and care for people at the end of their lives, if required. A complaints procedure was in place and complaints were acted upon and used to improve the service.

The service continued to have an open and empowering culture. The service used comments from people and incidents in the service to learn from these to drive improvement. The service had a quality assurance system and shortfalls were identified and addressed. As a result the quality of the service continued to improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 23 September 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to know that someone would be available.

Beyea Care provides personal care support to approximately 80 people living in their own homes.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe with the care and support provided by the service. Staff knew what action to take to ensure people were protected if they suspected they were at risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing had been assessed. Staff were given guidance on how to minimise any identified risks to keep people safe from harm or injury.

Where the service supported people with their medicines this was done in the way they preferred. However, the recording of medicines which had been administered did not meet current good practise guidelines. This was because record keeping did not a reflect what medications people had been supported to take?

Staff received appropriate training and support to meet people’s needs. Training was monitored to ensure staff skills and knowledge were kept up to date. Staff were supported by the registered manager and other senior staff to discuss any issues or concerns they had. People and their relatives said staff had a good understanding and awareness of people’s needs and how these should be met. The service did not always schedule visits to allow staff time to travel between calls.

People’s care plans were individualised and reflected their specific needs and preferences for how they wished to be cared for and supported. People and their relatives said they felt able to express their views and were listened to. People’s care and support needs were reviewed regularly to ensure staff had up to date information about people’s current care and support needs.

People and their relatives told us staff looked after people in a way which was kind, caring and respectful. People’s right to privacy and dignity were respected and maintained by staff, particularly when receiving personal care. People were encouraged to do as much as they could and wanted to do for themselves to retain control and independence.

There was a quality assurance programme which checked care was being provided to an acceptable standard. However, where areas for improvement were identified action plans were not developed to address these.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

We saw that people’s needs were assessed and appropriate care and support plans were in place. We saw people’s care and support plans were regularly reviewed with the involvement of people and their relatives.

We spoke with 12 people who used the service or their relatives to assess their views regarding the quality of the care they received. We also spoke with four care staff.

We found systems in place to obtain consent from people and saw that people were involved in the planning of their care and support.

We saw that care workers were appropriately trained, supervised and supported by their manager to provide effective and safe care to support people in their own homes. Care staff we spoke who had been recently employed told us they had been supported with appropriate training and induction into their new role.

Staff were complimentary about the support they received from the provider. They told us they were passionate about their role in supporting people to maintain their independence and providing dignified personal care.

There were systems in place to seek people’s feedback about the quality of the service they received. The provider also had systems in place to address people’s comments and complaints. People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the care and support provided by Beyea Care and were confident that the service would respond appropriately if they ever needed to complain.