About the service: Denny Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own homes. Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, there were 50 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service: People told us they received a good service and felt safe. Accidents and incidents were recorded and investigated, and risk assessments were in place. The registered manager understood their responsibilities with regard to safeguarding and staff had been appropriately trained. Arrangements were in place for the safe administration of medicines.

There were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of people. Staff visits to people were monitored via an electronic call monitoring system. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place, and carried out relevant vetting checks when they employed staff. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions and appraisals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible.

The provider had a complaints procedure in place, and people were aware of how to make a complaint. An effective quality assurance process was in place. People and staff were regularly consulted about the quality of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Good (April 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection. It was scheduled based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection was announced and took place on 29 February 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours’ of our intention to undertake the inspection. This was because the service provides domiciliary care to people in their own homes and we needed to make sure someone would be available at the office.

Denny Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The agency is also known as Home Instead and is part of a franchise. At the time of our inspection 11 people received care and support services.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 safe and cared for by staff that had a clear understanding of the risk associated with people’s need. Staff demonstrated their knowledge of the different types of potential abuse to people and how to respond. People had their individual risks assessed and there were plans in place to manage them. People’s medicines were prompted by care staff that had received training to do this.

Care staff had been recruited following appropriate checks. The provider had arrangements in place to make sure that there were sufficient care staff to provide support to people in their own homes. People told us they received reliable care from a regular team of care staff who understood their preferences for care and support.

People were listened to and were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff understood they could only care for and support people who provided their consent. However, records were inconsistent and needed to be reviewed to ensure they were accurate and reflected people’s current consent.

People told us that they were happy with the way in which care staff supported them with preparation of meals and that staff ensured a choice. People were supported by staff to maintain their independence.

People told us staff provided support that respected their privacy and dignity. People were encouraged to express their views and give feedback about their care. People said staff listened to them and they felt confident they could raise any issues should the need arise and that action would be taken.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and that the provider gave them opportunity to progress and develop their skills and knowledge. The registered manager was committed to developing new initiatives to support the care provided to people.

The provider ensured regular checks were completed to monitor the quality of care that people received and look at where improvements could be made.

People were positive about the care and support they received and the service as a whole.