The inspection took place on 30 November 2016 and was announced. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.

Divine Homecare is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support for people living in their own homes .There were 12 people receiving support with personal care.

This was the first rated inspection of the service since it was registered with us.

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.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. There were procedures in place and guidance was clear in relation to Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) that included steps that staff should take to comply with legal requirements. Staff received training in the MCA; however not all staff were able to explain clearly to us what the MCA was about.

The provider had systems in place to safeguard vulnerable people from risk of abuse. They made sure that safeguarding alerts were raised with other agencies. All of the people who were able to talk with us said that they felt safe with staff providing the service; and said that if they had any concerns they were confident these would be quickly addressed by the registered manager. Relatives felt their people were safe in their home.

The agency provided sufficient numbers of staff to meet people's needs and provide a flexible service. The provider operated safe recruitment procedures. Staff had received regular individual one to one supervision meetings as stated in the provider's policy. People were supported with meal planning, preparation and eating and drinking.

People said that they knew they could contact the provider at any time, and they felt confident about raising any concerns or other issues.

The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. We saw that audits were being undertaken as a part of the monitoring process.

The provider was aware of and fulfilled the requirements of the service’s conditions of registration with the Care Quality Commission including notifications of serious incidents and accidents.

People spoke positively about the way the agency was run. The management team and staff understood their respective roles and responsibilities. Staff told us that the registered manager was very approachable and understanding.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.