About the service:

This service is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our visit 77 people were being supported with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

We spoke with people who required assistance with their medicines. When asked, everyone said they were happy with the processes for managing their medicines. Although people were happy with arrangements we saw good practice guidance was not always followed. We have made a recommendation about thisPeople and relatives who used Cherish Home Care Ltd -Sandwell told us they were more than happy with the service provided. They told us staff were committed, kind, caring and reliable.

We were told by people and relatives that Cherish Home Care Ltd – Sandwell was well-led. People and relatives praised the management team for the way in which the service was managed. Everyone we spoke with said they would recommend the service to other people and said they were grateful to be supported by such an efficient and caring organisation.

People told us they felt safe in the care of Cherish Home Care Ltd – Sandwell. They said they were supported by experienced and qualified staff who knew them well. We found risk was appropriately managed and addressed to keep minimise the risk of harm.

People said they were consulted with about all aspects of their care and support. They said they could raise any concerns with the management team and were confident they would be dealt with professionally and in a timely manner.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in reporting and responding to abuse and said they would not hesitate in reporting any unsafe or abusive practice. Staff told us the registered manager understood the importance of creating a culture where people were free from abuse and harassment.

People said they received effective health care with positive outcomes. They said the staff at the service liaised with health professionals to ensure their health needs were met. We saw evidence of multi-agency working to meet people’s health care needs.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection visit the registered provider was rated good. The report was published 22 April 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned and scheduled inspection.

Follow up:

The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.

More information is in the full report.

The inspection took place on 25 February 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides a domiciliary service and we wanted to make sure that staff would be available. The last inspection of the service took place on 9 December 2013 and the provider was complaint in all areas looked at.

Cherish Home Care Limited – Sandwell is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service currently provides care to 70 people.

There was a registered manager 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.

Systems to ensure that people were given medication in a safe way were not always effective. Where people required medication to be hidden in food, the authority to do this had not been sought.

Staff were aware of the types of abuse people may be at risk of and the actions to take if they suspected someone was at risk of harm.

People received their care on time and had support given by the same members of staff to ensure consistency.

Appropriate recruitment processes were in place to reduce the risk of unsuitable staff being employed by the service.

Staff received training and support from management to equip them with the knowledge required to meet people’s needs.

People told us that staff sought their consent before providing their care. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and knew how to support people to make their own decisions.

Staff took appropriate action to support people when they became unwell and understood the actions they should take to enable people to access healthcare support if required.

People told us that staff were kind and treated them with dignity. People were supported to have a say in how their care was delivered.

People and their relatives told us they were involved in the planning and review of their care and that when they required changes to be made, this was actioned by staff.

People and their relatives had been informed about how to make complaints. Where complaints were made, these were investigated and any actions that arose were shared to ensure improvements were made.

People, relatives and staff all spoke positively about the management of the service. Staff felt supported and confident in raising concerns and felt that the registered manager would act on these.

The registered manager sought feedback from people to ensure that quality of care was maintained. Where people had made suggestions to the registered manager, these had been acted upon.

During our visit we spoke with the provider, a senior care worker and the deputy manager. Following our visit we spoke with five staff, one relative and five people using the service on the telephone.

We saw that people's needs were assessed before they started using the service and from this a care plan was developed. This showed staff how to support the person to meet their needs. One person said, “I have no complaints about the care I have they do a really great job and help me.” Another person told us, “I think staff are very professional kind and very considerate.

Appropriate pre-employment checks were completed when staff were recruited to ensure they were suitable to work with the people who used the service. All staff spoken with confirmed that they had the training they needed to care for people safely.

There are arrangements in place to assess and monitor the safety and quality of care. The views of people and families are used to improve the quality of service delivered. One relative told us, “If I have suggested something the agency was very quick to respond and try what I had suggested’’.

Records were kept securely to respect people’s confidentiality.