We undertook an announced inspection of Careline (Rotherham) on 21 and 22 November 2018. We gave the registered manager short notice that we would be coming because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we wanted to be sure the registered manager was available.

Careline (Rotherham) is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to young and older adults in the Rotherham and Doncaster area. The agency office is in Rotherham.

This is the services first inspection since they registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May 2018. The service was previously registered with Ark Home Healthcare Rotherham. Staff and service users from Ark Home Healthcare Rotherham transferred over to the new provider, Careline (Rotherham). Ark Home Healthcare Rotherham was last inspected in January 2018 and rated good.

The service had 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 legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service. The registered manager and provider understood how to protect people from abuse and potential harm. There were policies and procedures in place which helped to keep people safe and manage identified risks to people's care.

Staff were trained and regularly assessed as competent to assist people to take their medicines. Where mistakes or omissions occurred, managers dealt with this appropriately. For example, staff were stopped from administering medicines until they were re-trained.

The provider's recruitment process included pre-employment checks being completed prior to staff starting work. This helped to ensure staff were suitable to support people who used the service.

People said staff used protective clothing when needed, such as disposable gloves and aprons when providing personal care tasks. This helped minimise the risk of infection.

People said care staff stayed long enough to provide the care they needed and staff stayed for the required amount of time, unless people told them to leave early. People and relatives said care call times were consistent and care was provided by a regular group of familiar staff.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The registered manager was aware of current procedures and guidance for best practice, and this was evident in the policies in use at the service.

People told us they received care from staff who were kind, caring and considerate to their needs and they were treated respectfully and with dignity. Relatives were confident their family members were looked after well.

People's care needs were regularly reviewed and senior staff completed unannounced spot observations when care staff supported people.

People knew how to complain. Information about making a complaint was available for people in the ‘service user guide’, which was left at people’s homes.

The registered manager and provider sought people's feedback to check the care provided was what people needed and expected.

The registered manager demonstrated values based leadership which was caring and compassionate. There were established quality assurance systems and audits in place to monitor the service and make continual improvement.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.