The inspection took place on the 6 November 2017 and was announced.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults, but predominantly to older adults, including people who may have a physical disability, a learning disability, sensory loss, mental health problems or people living with dementia living in Brighton and Hove. This is a responsive short-term reablement service for people who need support to regain their independence, but do not require any clinical care. Care and support is also provided for a small number of people who have complex care needs and receive long term care and support. At the time of our inspection around 80 people were receiving a service.

At the last inspection on 30 September, and 9 October 2015 the service was rated overall Good. At this inspection we found the service remained overall Good. At the last inspection the needs and choices of people had been clearly documented in their care and support plans. Where people’s needs changed, people’s care and support plans were reviewed to ensure the person received the care and treatment they required. However, the detail in people’s care and support plan was variable. At this inspection we found work had been undertaken to address this. People also told us they did not always have continuity of care staff providing their care. Feedback at this inspection was where possible this had also been addressed.

Systems had been maintained to keep people safe. People told us they felt safe with the care provided. People’s comments received included, “Lost my confidence going down stairs so they have helped me feel safe again, ”and “It’s like having a friend come in to help and keep you safe.” They knew who they could talk with if they had any worries. They felt they could raise concerns and they would be listened to. People remained protected from the risk of abuse because staff understood how to identify and report it. Assessments of risks to people had been developed. Staff told us they had continued to receive supervision, and be supported to develop their skills and knowledge by receiving training which helped them to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively. One member of staff told us, “We are backed up very well by the office and managers. They are always only a phone call away. I’ve always been well supervised, every four to six weeks. They are hot on training. I’ve got NVQ Level 3, and done dementia awareness.” People told us care staff had the knowledge and skills to provide their care and support.

People's individual care and support needs continued to be identified before they received a service. Care and support provided was personalised and based on the identified needs of each person. People told us they felt listened to, supported to be independent and they were involved in decisions about their care. One person told us, “Carers have nice smile, put you at your ease, they have a very nice way allowing you to do things for yourself but not making you feel you ought to be able to do it and not rushing in just waiting for you to need help. It’s part of their professionalism you always feel like they are watching to keep you safe.” Staff had a good understanding of consent.

People were happy with the care provided. People continued to be supported by kind and caring staff who treated them with respect and dignity. They were spoken with and supported in a sensitive, respectful and professional manner. People’s comments included, “Can’t speak highly enough of the carers, brilliant people, didn’t know there were people like that around,” and “Can’t speak highly enough of the carers. Glad they are employed by Brighton and Hove Council which gives them good terms of employment. They are cheerful, willing flexible, if you need an extra ten minutes that’s OK. They say, and I believe them, that they love their work the

We looked at supporting care documentation and staff documentation. We spoke with the registered manager who is referred to as manager in the report, an operations manager, two care support managers/duty officers, three care workers, two administrative staff and twenty people who used the service or their carer.

This told us that people were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. People told us they felt they were well cared for by staff who understood their care needs. Comments received included, “They are really good girls, I couldn’t wish for anything better I am very happy. As I’m not well they look after me and would do anything for me to help me. We have a real good laugh together and I tease and torment them a bit, they know me well and know we’re all joking together, it’s great. It’s so important to have a laugh,” “All going very well, they’re all lovely ...thank you very much,” and “I’m very happy, they do things as I like and they are there for me. They let me do things and encourage me so I can get better and do things for myself. I think they are very competent at what they do.”

Appropriate arrangements were in place in relation to obtaining, storing, administering handling and recording medicines.

Robust recruitment practices had been followed. Appropriate identity and security checks had been completed as part of the recruitment process.

The records needed for the management of the service had been maintained and were accurate and complete.

People told us what it was like to receive care and support from this service. They described how they were treated by the staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. The registered manager was not present during our visit. We spoke with two operations managers for the service, a care support manager, four care workers, and three people who used the service, and a carer of a person who used the service. We viewed supporting care documentation and records relating to the running of the service.

This told us people had been able to express their views about the care provided and where possible people who used the service had been involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. Comments received included, “Extremely happy with the service. They are so good and so professional,” “they are really, really good,” and “I have no complaints. If I want anything done there is never a problem.”

People’s care needs had been assessed and care and treatment had been planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan.

People’s care had been provided by care workers who understood their care needs, and people knew who to talk with if they had any concerns about the care provided.

This inspection took place on 30 September and 9 October 2015 and was announced.

Brighton and Hove Home Care is a domiciliary care agency and provides personal care and support for adults living in their own home in the Brighton and Hove area. Care is provided to adults, but predominantly to older people, including people who may have a physical disability, a learning disability, sensory loss, mental health problems or people living with dementia.This is a responsive short-term service where people have care for up to six weeks, but on average people receive care for a period of up to four weeks. This is a reablement service for people who need support to regain their independence, but do not require any clinical care. Care and support is also provided to people who live in an extra care housing scheme, and for a small number of people who have complex care needs and receive long term care and support. At the time of our inspection around 120 people were receiving a service, with a turnaround of about 200 people a month going through the service.

On the day of our inspection, 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.

Since our last inspection there has been an amalgamation of community short term reablement services in the city of Brighton and Hove into this one service.The service was also going through a significant period of review, where the provider and local stakeholders were looking at the service provision, what care and support was needed in the city, and how the service would best be provided in the future.

People and their relatives spoke well of the care and support provided. However, they also spoke of a lack of continuity of care staff providing their care calls. New care staff did not always proactively show their identification card (ID) to confirm with people they were representatives from the agency. This is an area that requires to improvement.

The needs and choices of people had been clearly documented in their care and support plans. Where people’s needs changed, people’s care and support plans were reviewed to ensure the person received the care and treatment they required. However, the detail in people’s care and support plan was variable. This is an area that requires to improvement.

People and their relatives told us that they or their relative felt safe with the staff that supported them. Detailed risk assessments were in place to ensure people were safe within their own home and when they received care and support.

Medicines were managed safely and people received the support they required from staff. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines were administered and reviewed appropriately.

There were enough care staff in the service to provide peoples care calls, who had been recruited through safe recruitment procedures.

People told us they were involved in the planning and review of their care. Where people were unable to do this, senior staff told us they would liaise with health and social care professionals to consider the person’s capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Care staff had a good understanding of the need for people to consent to their care and treatment.

Care staff received an induction, basic training and additional specialist training in areas such as supporting people as part of the reablement service provided. Care staff had supervision in one to one meetings and staff meetings, in order for them to discuss their role and share any information or concerns.

People and their relatives told us they were supported by kind and caring staff. Comments received included, “You can talk to them and have a laugh with them,” ”It’s a bit like having a friendly mother around to help you,” and “They make my day and make me laugh.”

People told us they always got their care visit, that they were happy with the care and the care staff that supported them. People were consulted with about the care provided. They knew how to raise concerns or complaints if they needed to.

The registered manager,along with senior staff provided good leadership and support to the care staff. They were involved in day to day monitoring of the standards of care and support that were provided to people. One staff member told us, “It’s a brilliant company. We get the training, we are listened to. We are a team and well supported.”

Systems were in place to audit and quality assure the care provided. People were able to give their feedback or make suggestions on how to improve the service, through the reviews of their care. There was evidence as to how any feedback was acted upon and improvements made to the service provided.