The inspection of this domiciliary care service took place on 15 and 19 March 2018 and was announced. The service was given 48 hours' notice of our visit, because we needed to be sure that someone would be in the location's office when we visited. This is the first time the service has been inspected. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes. On the day of our visit, there were twenty-five people supported by the service.

The service had 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.

The staff were knowledgeable about how to keep people safe from harm and the actions that they would take should they have any concerns. The staff knew the people they supported well because they were assigned to support the same people on a regular basis.

There was a robust recruitment process and procedure. This included completing references and checks to determine if the applicant was suitable to work for the service. Induction and further training was provided to all staff and they were supported through regular supervision and spot checks. When people need support to take their medicines, staff did this safely.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and encouraged them to remain as independent as possible. Staff consulted people about their care and the staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. Best interest decisions involved people's representatives when required. The staff worked with other professionals as appropriate to support people to meet their individual needs.

Staff worked in a person-centred manner and treated people with dignity and respect. People were treated with kindness and compassion by understanding staff.

Care plans were person-centred and reviewed regularly and as required if people’s needs changed. People discussed their care plans with staff and they had active input into the reviews of their care.

People and their relatives consistently spoke positively about their experiences with the service. People knew how to make complaints about the service should the need arise.

People's views on the service were sought through surveys and questionnaires. Where issues were identified, the registered manager took action to resolve them.

The senior team completed regular audits and quality assurance checks of the service and this supported them to identify and resolve potential service issues.