This inspection took place on 25 January and 1 February 2018 and was announced. This was the service’s first inspection since registering with CQC.

Flexicare Home Services UK – Stroud is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own properties in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger adults and people with learning disabilities. Not everyone using Flexicare Home Services UK – Stroud receives support with a 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 our inspection there were 24 people with a variety of care needs using the service, including older people, people living with physical disabilities and younger adults.

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.

People and their relatives were happy with the service they received and felt safe with the staff who supported them. They told us staff were courteous and polite towards them and they respected people’s dignity and privacy. Staff always asked for people’s consent before they supported them.

People were involved in the assessment of their care and encouraged to retain their independence. The provider had reviewed the staff teams to improve the efficiency and punctuality of staff arriving on time. There were sufficient staff available to ensure people were supported by familiar staff who understood their needs.

People’s support needs and risks had been assessed and were managed well. People’s care records were being reviewed to ensure they reflected their needs and provided staff with adequate guidance. People received their medicines in a safe and timely manner and were referred to health care services when their needs had changed.

Staff had been trained to carry out their role and were knowledgeable about good care practices and their responsibilities to protect people from harm and abuse. Staff felt supported by their seniors, managers and the providers of the service. Recruitment processes were in place to ensure people were cared for by suitable staff.

Quality assurances systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided and actions were being taken by the registered manager to address any shortfalls. The registered manager led by example and regularly carried out spot checks on staff to ensure people received good quality care. People, their relatives and staff spoke highly of the service. It was evident from speaking to people that staff had embedded the provider’s values into the care that they delivered.