This announced inspection was carried out on 02 March 2017. Comfort Call (Worksop) provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes in north Nottinghamshire. The registered manager told us on the day of our visit there were approximately 150 people using the service who received personal care.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 were supported by staff who understood the risks people could face and knew how to make people feel safe. Staff knew how to report any concerns of abuse or harm they identified when they visited people. People were encouraged to be independent with as little restriction as possible.

People were usually supported by a regular individual or group of staff who they knew. People who required support to take their medicines received assistance to do so when this was needed.

People were provided with the care and support they wanted by staff who were trained and supported to do so and they provided consent to their care when needed. When needed decisions were being made in people’s best interest and improvements were being made as to how these were recorded.

People were supported to consume a sufficient amount of food and fluids that promoted their wellbeing. People received support from staff who understood their health needs.

People were treated with respect by staff who demonstrated kindness and understanding. People were involved in determining their care and support. They were shown respect and treated with dignity in the way they wished to be.

People’s care plans did not contain all the required information to ensure their care and support was delivered as needed. People were informed of how to express any issues or concerns they had so these could be investigated and acted upon.

People who used the service and care workers were able to express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that gained the respect of care workers and motivated them as a team. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service so that improvements could be made when needed.

This inspection took place on 6 January 2016 and was announced.

Comfort Call is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own home in Bassetlaw and Doncaster areas. On the day of our inspection around 170 people were using the service each week. This included 40 people who were registered for an emergency response service which responded to emergency calls alarms that people had in their own homes

The service has 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

There were not always sufficient staff available to ensure that people could be sure that their support would arrive at the expected time. Where staff provided support for people to take their medicines, people could not be sure that they had received their medicines as prescribed as the records were not always completed. Potential hazards were identified and detailed plans were in place to enable staff to support people safely. Staff took the necessary steps to keep people safe and understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse.

Staff were provided with the knowledge and skills to care for people effectively and received supervision of their work. People received the support they required to have enough to eat and drink. Staff made sure that people had access to their GP and other health care professionals when needed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) The provider was aware of the principles of the MCA and how this might affect the care they provided to people. Where people had the capacity they were asked to provide their consent to the care being provided.

Positive and caring relationships had been developed between staff and people who used the service. People were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and making decisions about what care they wanted. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People’s care plans provided comprehensive information about their basic care needs and were regularly reviewed and updated. However, care plans did not always contain such detailed information about any specific medical conditions people may have and the implications of this for the support being provided. People felt able to make a complaint and knew how to do so.

The culture of the service was open. People were supported by staff who were clear about what was expected of them and staff had confidence that they would get the support they needed from the registered manager, both during and outside of office hours. The registered manager undertook audits and observed practice to ensure that the care provided met people’s needs.