This inspection took place on 8 and 14 March 2016 and was announced. Gloucester Homecare Services is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people of all ages with physical needs as well as people who are living with dementia, have mental health problems and sensory impairments. The service provides care and support to people who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection Gloucester Homecare Services were providing support to 29 people.

There was a registered managed 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 felt safe. People’s risks were managed effectively. Care staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences and history.

People and those important to them were involved in planning their care and their care plans reflected their needs and were reviewed regularly. People knew how to make a complaint.

People’s medicines were managed safely and there were sufficient staff to meet their needs.

People told us the care staff team who supported them with their personal care were kind and caring.

Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure care staff were suitable to work with people.

Care staff felt well supported and had the training they required to meet people’s needs. Care staff understood their responsibilities around protecting people from the risk of harm or abuse.

The care staff lived the values of the provider and there was a visible leadership presence in the service. Quality assurance processes were in place to ensure care was delivered safely and to help drive improvements.