We inspected Clarriots Homecare on 29 February and 7 and 9 March 2016. This was an announced inspection. We do this to ensure staff are available to speak with us as most staff would be working away from the head office in people's homes. The service provides care and support for people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection Clarriots Homecare had contracts for 20 people.

People were of mixed age groups. Some people required more assistance either because of physical illnesses or because they were experiencing memory loss.

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.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find.

We found that there were sufficient staff to meet the needs of people using the service. The provider had taken into consideration the complex needs of each person. This was balanced with the travelling time between calls for staff to make a safe journey. However, people expressed they did not like different care workers attending to their needs, but realised this was often because of short term absenteeism and new staffing being recruited. A minority of calls had been missed which was being addressed by the registered manager to ensure people were safe.

We found that people’s health care needs were assessed, and care planned and delivered in a consistent way through the use of a care plan. People were involved in the planning of their care and had agreed to the care provided. The information and guidance provided to staff in the care plans was clear. Risks associated with people’s care needs were assessed and plans put in place to minimise risk in order to keep people safe.

The staff knew the people they were supporting and the choices they had made about their care and their lives. People were supported to maintain their independence and control over their lives.

The provider used safe systems when new staff were recruited. All new staff completed training before working on their own. The staff were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from harm or abuse. They knew the action to take if they were concerned about the welfare of an individual.

People had been consulted about the development of the service and quality checks had been completed to ensure services met people’s requirements.