About the service: Firstpoint Homecare Coventry provides personal care to adults living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 122 people were using the service who needed assistance with their personal care.

People’s experience of using this service: People told us they received a good service and felt safe. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed, 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.

People and family members told us staff were usually on time and they generally saw the same regular staff. 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.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. Support plans were written in a person-centred way. Person-centred means ensuring the person is at the centre of any care or support and their individual wishes, needs and choices were considered

The service was responsive to people’s changing needs and people were supported to access the local community.

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 (August 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.

We inspected this service on 27 June 2016. This was our first inspection to this agency and was an announced inspection. We telephoned 48 hours' prior to our visit in order to arrange access to the information we needed. This included making arrangements for us to meet with staff who worked for the agency.

Firstpoint Homecare Warwickshire is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Care staff call at people’s homes to provide personal care and support at set times agreed with them. The agency also provides ‘live in’ care services. At the time of our inspection there were around 45 people who received personal care through the agency.

During the inspection we met with the 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 told us they felt safe when supported by staff. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and knew about risks to people’s safety. They told us they reported any concerns they had to the registered manager or staff based in the office so they could be acted upon. This ensured potential risks to people were managed appropriately. Staff were provided with a handbook containing the provider’s policies and procedures and were required to attend regular training so they knew what was expected of them when delivering care.

Staff received training on how to manage medicines safely. People told us staff mostly prompted them to take their medicines to make sure they took them.

Recruitment checks were carried out prior to staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. New staff completed induction training and shadowed more experienced care staff to help develop their skills and knowledge. Staff also had regular supervisions with their manager to check their on-going competence to deliver safe and effective care.

People received a service based on their personal needs. All personal care calls were supported by two staff who arrived together usually within the timeframes agreed. People were positive about the staff who supported them and the care they received and said they were not rushed. People said staff maintained their privacy and dignity and supported their independence where possible. Where people needed assistance with meals, this was provided to ensure people’s nutritional needs were met.

The registered manager understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and how to put these into practice. Staff told us they gained people’s consent before giving care.

The provider had systems and processes to monitor the quality of the service and to understand the experiences of people who used the service. This included quality satisfaction surveys and periodic reviews of people’s care. People we spoke with said they had no complaints about the service. Where concerns had been raised with the registered manager, these had been taken seriously and investigated.

We found overall that records were not always sufficiently detailed to demonstrate systems and quality monitoring were fully effective.