Calderdale Home Care Associates is a Domiciliary Care Agency based in Middleton which provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the Greater Manchester area.

This is the first rated inspection for this service.

The service did not have a registered manager. 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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The previous registered manager left in May 2017. The area manager showed us her application for her Disclosure and Barring service check to show the service was filling the registered manager post promptly.

Staff we spoke with were aware of how to protect vulnerable people and had safeguarding policies and procedures to guide them, which included the contact details of the local authority to report to.

Recruitment procedures were robust and ensured new staff should be safe to work with vulnerable adults.

Risk assessments for health needs or environmental hazards helped protect the health and welfare of people who used the service but did not restrict their lifestyles.

Staff were trained in the administration of medicines and managers checked the records to help spot any errors and keep people safe.

Staff were trained in infection control topics and issued with personal protective equipment to help prevent the spread of infection.

Staff received an induction and were supported when they commenced employment to become competent to work with vulnerable people. Staff were well trained and supervised to feel confident within their roles. Staff were encouraged to take further training in health and social care topics.

People were supported to take a healthy diet if required and staff were trained in nutrition and food safety.

Staff told us how they would support someone if they thought their liberty was being deprived to help protect their rights.

We observed a good rapport between people who used the service and staff. People who used the service told us staff were reliable and they knew them well.

Personal records were held securely to help protect people’s privacy.

There was a complaints procedure for people to raise any concerns they may have.

People were assisted to attend meaningful activities as part of their package or staff good will.

Plans of care gave staff clear details of what care people needed. People helped develop their plans of care to ensure the care they received was what they wanted.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service provision and where needed the manager took action to improve the service.

The office was suitable for providing a domiciliary care service and was staffed during office hours. There was an on call service for people to contact out of normal working hours.

People who used the service thought managers were accessible and available to talk to.