This inspection took place on the 25, 27 October 2016 and 2, 3 November 2016 which was unannounced, the inspection team consisted of one inspector.

ENS Recruitment LTD is registered to provide personal care to people in their own home. The service provides care and support to people who purchase care privately, through direct payments and who are funded by the local authority. Majority of people supported by ENS are housed in supported living schemes or in 24 hour live in care across Essex. ENS provides individualised support to people in the community who have a wide range of needs due to living with learning disabilities or are on the autism spectrum. The service assists individuals to maintain their independence and to take part in a variety of community based activities this includes access to work.

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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.’

People, without exception, told us they felt safe due to the support being provided by the service. The service worked hard to ensure that personalised and suitable arrangements were in place to ensure that people received appropriate care and support to meet their needs and the service continually looked at other ways in which it could improve people’s lives by empowering them to do as much as they could but maintaining their safety at all times.

The dedication of the service to ensuring medication support for people was central to people’s wellbeing meant that it had significantly changed some people’s lives in really positive ways. Recruitment of staff was detailed and very robust including detailed work on immigration checks and safety checks of prospective staff members to ensure they were suitable to support people.

The service ensured that all staff knew the needs of the people they supported and they were treated with respect and dignity. People’s healthcare needs were well managed and they had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

People’s needs were met by sufficient numbers of staff. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure that staff had been recruited safely; they received opportunities for training and supervision. People were safeguarded from harm; Staff had received training in Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and had knowledge of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The manager was aware of how and when to make a referral. People had sufficient amounts to eat and drink to ensure that their dietary and nutrition needs were being met.

People were provided with the opportunity to participate and engage in activities of their choice which met their needs. Relatives and people who used the service knew how to make a complaint and we felt reassured that all complaints would be dealt with and resolved efficiently and in a timely manner due to the service having a robust complaints system in place.

We spoke with three relatives of people who use this service. All were satisfied with the care that was provided. People were involved in the assessment process. We saw care plans and risk assessments in the care folders that had been recently updated.

Staff told us they receive on-going training provided by the company which supports them in delivering good care.

The management actively seeks the opinion of people they care for, their relatives and staff to ensure that the care they deliver is of a high standard and it is what people want.

People with whom we spoke told us that they were very satisfied with the care and support they received from the service. One person told us ''My relative is well supported by the agency. There is a detailed care plan, which staff follow and we are very happy with the care and support provided.'' Another person told us ''I am quite happy with the care I get. Staff arrive on time and stay for the time they are meant to.''

People told us that staff treated them well and that they felt safe using the service. They

told us that they were involved and asked to contribute their views, comments and

suggestions as part of the overall process for monitoring and improving services they

received.

Our inspection consisted of a visit to the ENS Recruitment Limited office on 10 January 2014 and visits to four people's homes on 16 January 2014. During week commencing 13 January 2014, we contacted the relatives of four people who received care and support from the domiciliary care service by telephone. People who used the service and/or those acting on their behalf told us that they were happy with the care and support provided by staff and that their care and support needs were met.

Records viewed showed that support plans covered all aspects of a person's individual circumstances. The provider had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that staff were recruited appropriately and that there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet the provider's business needs. Although we initially found that improvements were required in relation to the management of medicines, there was evidence to show that the provider had taken corrective actions to ensure that they were compliant with the regulation.