This inspection took place on the 27 April 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting. This was because the provider offers a supported service to people living in their own homes and we wanted to make sure that people and staff would be available to speak with us.

Care Companions is registered to provide personal care and support for adults within their own home. They currently provide personal care and support for 21 people.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

There was no previous inspection information available for this location as this was their first inspection.

People were kept safe. Relatives believed their family members were kept safe. Staff had received training and understood the different types of abuse and knew what action they would take if they thought a person was at risk of harm. Staff was provided with sufficient guidance on how to support people’s medical support needs. The provider had processes and systems in place that kept people safe and protected them from the risk of harm.

People were supported by staff that had been safely recruited. People were supported with their medication by staff that had received appropriate training.

People and relatives felt staff had the skills and knowledge to care and support them in their homes. Staff were trained and supported so that they had the knowledge and skills to enable them to care for people in a way that met their individual needs and preferences. Where appropriate, people were supported by staff to access health and social care professionals.

People were supported to make choices and were involved in the care and support they received. The provider was taking the appropriate action to protect people’s legal rights.

Staff was caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People’s choices and independence was respected and promoted and staff responded to people’s support needs. People were supported with their healthcare needs because the provider involved family members if concerns were identified.

People and relatives felt they could speak with the provider about their worries or concerns and felt they would be listened to and have their concerns addressed.

The provider had quality assurance and audit systems in place to monitor the care and support people received to ensure the service remained consistent and effective.