About the service:

¿ Brockwell Gate is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were two people using the service, both were young adults with complex care needs.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ Relatives of people using the service told us that care workers were friendly and cared for their family members in a positive way. They said they had no concerns about the safety or well-being of their family members in the presence of care workers.

¿ People received a consistent level of care from a team of regular care workers. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs

¿ Risks to people were managed in a way that kept them as safe as possible. Risk management guidelines were in place to help care workers when supporting people.

¿ Relatives did not raise any concerns about food, hydration or general health support.

¿ Staff were trained to administer medicines and they did so in a safe manner, completing appropriate records which were checked.

¿ The provider arranged training for staff that met the needs of people using the service. They were assessed for their competency which helped to ensure they were safe to work with people.

¿ Care plans were individual and met the needs of people using the service. They included people’s preferences and those of their relatives and met the needs of people. They were person centred and included ways in which staff could support people emotionally and the activities they enjoyed.

¿ No formal complaints had been received from people or their relatives. People were issued with a service user guide that told them how to make a complaint if they were unhappy.

¿ Feedback from relatives and staff was that the service was well-led. They told us the managers were always available to speak with.

¿ Quality assurance checks such as audits of medicines records and other records were carried out. The managers kept in regular contact with relatives to ensure they were happy with the care provided.

¿ The service met the characteristics for a rating of “Good” in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “Good”.

¿ More information is in our full report.

Rating at last inspection:

¿ At our last inspection, the service was rated “Good”. Our last report was published on 5 October 2016. 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.

Why we inspected:

¿ This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

¿ We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates a per our re-inspection plan.

This inspection took place on 18 and 24 August 2016 and was announced. Brockwell Gate is a domiciliary care service that is registered to provide personal care for people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection two people were using the service.

The service had 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.

The provider had safeguarding processes in place and staff had an awareness of how to protect people against the risk of harm and abuse. Staff knew how to manage an allegation of abuse and were able to describe local safeguarding procedures. The provider’s safeguarding policy gave staff guidance on how to protect people from abuse.

Staff identified risks to people and plans were put in place to monitor and manage them. To reduce the recurrence of risks a management plan was used by staff to enable them to support people safely.

People did not need support to take their medicines. Staff we spoke with had an awareness of the appropriate and safe management of medicines. The registered manager had audits systems in place to check the accuracy of medicine administration records (MAR) to detect and act on errors.

People were cared for by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their needs. Staff had a weekly work rota that held the details of people they were providing care to. Recruitment processes in place ensured the employment of suitably skilled staff to work safely with people. The registered manager carried out appropriate checks before staff worked with people.

Staff had the relevant skills, experience and knowledge to support people. The registered manager arranged support for staff. Staff received regular supervision, appraisal, and training to support them in their caring roles. The registered provider had a training programme and systems in place to ensure staff completed all mandatory training.

The registered provider had an understanding of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Consent was sought from staff while supporting people, staff encouraged them to make choices and decisions about the way they wanted to be cared for.

Staff carried out shopping tasks and supported people to prepare meals for themselves on a regular basis. This met people’s food and drink preferences.

Staff supported people to access health care services through supporting them to make appointments and attend with people as required.

People and their relatives had an opportunity to make decisions about how they received care. The registered manager had a system in place to empower people to be involved in taking decisions and in making informed care choices. People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff which respected and promoted their dignity whilst maintaining their privacy.

People had assessments of their needs completed and they were encouraged to contribute to them. The registered provider had systems in place to ensure people had regular reviews of their care needs. People were cared for by staff who knew them, their likes and dislikes and how they wished to receive support and cared .

The registered provider had a process in place that supported people to complain about the service or aspects of their care if they were dissatisfied. Staff provided people with a copy of the complaints procedure that was included in the service user’s handbook.

The registered manager demonstrated clear leadership within the service. The registered manager and registered provider maintained an overview of the service because they were involved in the daily arrangements for the delivery of care.

The registered manager informe