This inspection took place on 19, 25 and 26 June 2018 and it was announced. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector and an expert by experience.

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 older adults and younger disabled adults. There were 63 people who received personal care from this service at the time of the inspection.

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.

This was the first inspection of this service.

Improvements were required to ensure all risks were consistently managed to reduce any risks to people’s safety.

The registered manager and provider were aware of their responsibilities to submit notifications to CQC. A notification is the means by which providers tell us important information that affects the running of the service and the care people receive. We had not been notified about one allegation of abuse as required that had been reported to the local authority. The registered manager told us they would ensure all required notifications were made in the future.

Staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and staff had received training in this area. Assessments of capacity and best interest decisions were not always recorded. We have made a recommendation about the assessment of people's capacity to make specific decisions and arrangements for best interests.

People's needs were assessed and their care was planned to meet their needs and preferences. People received care from staff that were caring, kind and compassionate. People and their relatives spoke very highly of staff.

People told us they felt safe. All staff were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that any concerns raised would be responded to. The registered manager knew how and when they should escalate concerns following the local authorities safeguarding protocols.

The registered provider had a system in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

People received care from staff who had the right knowledge and skills to meet their needs. Staff told us there was good communication with the management of the service and they felt supported to carry out their roles.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and asked for people’s consent before providing care.

Staff supported people to maintain their independence where possible.

The provider had processes in place to monitor the delivery of the service. People's views were obtained through surveys, one-to-one meetings, meetings with people's families and social workers.

The provider had a process in place to enable them to respond to people and their concerns, investigate them and had taken action to address their concerns.

Staff were knowledgeable about people's needs and told us they left drinks and snacks for people where required.

People, staff and their relatives told us the service was well managed and told us the registered manager would respond to any concerns.

Staff told us that they seek the guidance from healthcare professionals as required. They told us they would speak with people's families and inform the management team if they had any concerns about people's health or care needs.

There were systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents. Further improvements were required to ensure all incidents were recorded to identify all actions and continuous learning and lessons learnt to drive improvements within the service. We have made a recommendation about monitoring incidents and identifying lessons learnt.

The service worked in partnership with other agencies.

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