About the service: Caremark (Southend and Rochford) Care Services Limited provides personal care and support to people who require assistance in their own home.

People’s experience of using this service: People and relatives were very complimentary of the service and staff. One person said, “They are fabulous.” Another person said, “I am so grateful to them they really go that extra mile.”

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection and to learn lessons from accidents and incidents. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. People’s needs were met by sufficient numbers of staff who had received the appropriate training

People were supported with their medication by staff who had received training to do so.

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 support this practice.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to ensure they maintained a balanced diet. Referrals to other health professionals were made when required.

Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences of care, staff promoted people’s independence. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. People were supported to follow their interests and participate in social activities. The provider investigated and responded to complaints. Support was provided to people at the end of their life.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and provide good care and these were reviewed on a regular basis.

Rating at last inspection: Good report published 24/12/2016

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Caremark Southend and Rochford provides personal care to people who live in their own home. There were 67 people receiving a service at the time of our inspection.

A registered manager was 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.

People and their relatives felt confident that people were safe and secure when receiving care in their own homes. Staff knew how to identify potential abuse and report concerns. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Potential risks to people’s health and well-being were identified, reviewed and managed effectively to support people to have as much independence as possible while keeping them safe. Satisfactory staff recruitment processes were in place. There were adequate numbers of suitable staff available to meet people’s individual needs.

People received their care and support from a staff team that had a full understanding of people's care needs and the skills and knowledge to meet them. People's consent was obtained prior to support being given and staff were familiar with the Mental Capacity Act and how this may affect them in their role. Staff respected people’s right to make their own decisions. People were provided with appropriate levels of support to eat and drink and maintain their health and wellbeing.

People’s dignity and privacy was respected and people found the staff to be reliable, friendly and caring. People and their relatives where appropriate, were fully involved in the planning, delivery and reviews of the support provided. Care records overall included people’s preferences and individual needs so that staff had information on how to give people the support that they needed. People confirmed they received the care they required.

People and staff knew the registered manager and office staff and found them to be approachable. Systems were in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service people received. People had the opportunity to say how they felt about the service provided and influence changes and improvements.

We spoke with several of the people who use the service and found that all of their feedback was positive. Their comments included: “The supervisor visits me regularly to check that I am happy with everything. They are all very nice people.” Another person said, “The staff all treat me well, they are very respectful when they visit.” Another person said, “I am always treated with respect and they are all good all round carers.” “I could not ask for better staff.” People’s needs had been fully assessed and their individual care and support agreements clearly described the level of support that they needed. Individual care and support agreements and risk assessments had been regularly reviewed and updated to reflect people’s changing needs.

Some of the medication records had not been fully completed and for some medication the instructions to staff were not clear. The manager took immediate steps to rectify this. There was enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were well trained and supervised and they told us that they felt supported to do their work. The service had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others. People received safe, effective and compassionate care from a well led service that responds quickly to their changing needs.