This was an announced inspection and took place on the 8 and 19 November 2018. On the 8 November, we visited the office and on the 19 November, we made telephone calls to staff and relatives of people using the service.

Crosspath Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service specialises in supporting people with mental health conditions, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, the service provided the regulated activity of personal care to 13 people. This was the first comprehensive inspection of the service since the provider had registered the location on 30 March 2017.

The service had 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.

Staff had completed safeguarding training; they understood how to recognise signs of abuse and were clear about what action to take if any concerns arose.

Individual, comprehensive risk assessments were in place to protect people from harm and ensure staff provided care in accordance with people’s needs and preferences. Care plans were regularly reviewed and reflected people’s current needs. They provided information for staff about how to support people in order for them to improve or maintain their independence. People and their relatives were fully involved in the assessment process to identify how the service could support them in their own home.

Staff respected people's individuality, diversity and personal histories and preferences and always considered people's individual needs when delivering their care.

The service had a robust recruitment process in place to ensure that staff had the appropriate skills to support people using the service. New members of staff completed an induction programme during which they were introduced to, and spent time with, the people they would be supporting.

The provider supported staff to complete a variety of training sessions. This ensured they had the necessary skills to meet the needs of people.

Staff supported people in line with the legislation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and we saw no unnecessarily restrictive practices in place. There were effective systems in place to ensure that people’s medication and personal information were kept safe. There were also systems in place to record, analyse and enable the service to learn from accidents and incidents.

Relatives told us that the registered manager and staff went ‘above and beyond’ what was necessary to ensure that people received a person centred service. Staff supported people to make choices about all aspects of their daily life. People received care from staff who knew and understood them and with whom they felt comfortable. Consequently, meaningful relationships had developed between staff and people using the service, and it was clear that staff enjoyed supporting people and enabling them to achieve their goals.

There were systems and processes in place to monitor the service and identify and drive improvements forward.

The registered manager empowered staff and people to maximise their potential and achieve their goals. They had a clear vision for the service, which placed the needs of people using the service at its core. This ethos was firmly embedded into the culture of the service and was emulated by staff, who took pride in their work, felt valued by the organisation and endorsed the values of the service.