The inspection took place on 20 July 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice because the service is a small home care agency and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in.

D & H Community Support Ltd provides a home care agency service and a day centre for people living with learning and physical disabilities. People who use the home care service can also use the day centre. Our inspection was concerned only with those people using the home care service who received personal care. Day services do not fall within the scope of our regulatory powers. At the time of our inspection two people used the home service.

The service had 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.

People who used the service were safe. They were supported and cared for by staff who had been recruited under robust recruitment procedures that ensured only staff who were suited to work at the service were employed. Staff understood and practised their responsibilities for protecting people from abuse and avoidable harm.

People’s care plans included risk assessments of activities associated with their personal care routines. The risk assessments provided information for care workers that enabled them to support people safely but without restricting people’s independence.

Enough suitably skilled and knowledgeable staff were deployed to meet the needs of the people using the service. This meant that home care visits were consistently made at times that people expected. They were supported by a core team of care workers which meant the experienced a consistent quality of care and support.

All staff were trained in handling of medicines. At the time of our inspection none of the people using the service required support with medications such as pills or tablets.

People were cared for and supported by care workers staff who had the appropriate training and support to understand their needs. People using the service and their relatives spoke about staff in consistently complimentary and positive terms. Staff were supported through supervision, appraisal and training.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2015. Staff had awareness of the MCA. They understood they could provide care and support only if a person consented to it.

People using the service were independent and able to meet their own needs with regard to nutrition and diet. However, staff supported them with information about healthy eating and exercise. People were supported to attend health care appointments and to access health services when they needed them.

Staff were caring and knowledgeable about people’s needs. People were supported by the same staff and developed caring relationships with them. People using the service and their relatives told us staff were caring.

People were involved in decisions about their care and support. They received the information they needed about the service and about their care and support. Information was available to them in `easy to read’ formats. People told us they were always treated with dignity and respect.

People contributed to the assessment of their needs and to reviews of their care plans. People’s care plans were centred on their individual needs. People knew how to raise concerns if they felt they had to and they were confident they would be taken seriously by the provider.

People using the service and staff had opportunities to be involved in developing the service. This was particularly so in relation to activities people were supported to access.

The provider had effective arrangements for monitoring the quality of the serv