We carried out an announced inspection of the agency office on the 12 and 13 December 2017. We also spent time speaking with people who used the service, their relatives and staff on the 14 and 18 December 2017.

Good Companions is a Domiciliary Care Service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. The service operates seven days a week and care packages can vary depending on the individual needs of people. Services provided include assistance with personal care, help with domestic tasks and meal preparation, medication monitoring and social activities. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service. Not everyone using Good Companions receives 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 last inspection undertaken on 3 March 2016. The registered provider had breached Regulations 17 and 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These were in relation to poor recruitment practices and the lack quality assurance systems to monitor and review the quality of the service. The overall rating for the service at that time was requires improvement.

Following the last inspection we asked the provider to complete an improvement plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions, is the service safe and well led to at least good. A copy of the plan was received.

At this inspection, we found that some improvements had been made with regards to the implementation of quality assurance systems to monitor and review the service provided. However appropriate action had not been taken with regards to the implementation of robust recruitment procedures. We identified three breaches in the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulation 2014 with regards to recruitment procedures and staff training opportunities. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 registered manager and their partner were in the process of taking over the service. At the time of the inspection the registered provider remained unchanged.

Adequate numbers of staff were available to support those people currently using the service. However recruitment procedures were not sufficiently robust to ensure that only suitable applicants were appointed so that people were kept safe.

Staff had not received all the essential training necessary for their role. Systems to support and direct staff were in place and staff spoken with said they felt supported in their role.

New systems were being implemented to help monitor and review the quality of the service including seeking feedback from all parties involved. These had yet to be embedded helping to evidence continuous improvements so that people received safe and effective care.

People told us they received the care they needed and wanted. They told us they considered staff were polite and caring and felt they had the right skills and knowledge to care for them safely. People and their relatives said staff were respectful and considered people’s privacy and dignity when delivering care. Staff we spoke with were able to demonstrate they knew people well.

Staff were able to demonstrate their understanding of the safeguarding people from abuse policy and whistle blowing procedures (the reporting of unsafe and/or poor practice) and knew what to do if

This was an announced inspection which took place on 3 March 2016. In line with our current methodology we contacted the service two days before our inspection and told them of our plans to carry out a comprehensive inspection. This was because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure a manager would be at the office. This was the first inspection of this service. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Good companions is a Domiciliary Care Service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

During this inspection we found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

We saw that policies and procedures on staff recruitment were in place. Checks were made with the disclosure and barring service (DBS) for criminal convictions of applicants. However in three staff files we found full employment history’s had not been recorded. This meant people were at risk of being cared for by unsuitable staff.

The service did not have a robust system for monitoring and reviewing the quality of the service. Where checks and audits were carried out there was no record of the outcome of the audit or any action recommended or taken if errors were found. This process needed to be more robust to identify and drive forward required improvements in the service.

The service did not have a registered manager. The current manager intended to make an application to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to become registered. 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 who used the service and their relatives told us they felt safe. Policies and procedures were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff had received training in safeguarding adults. Staff were able to tell us how to identify and respond to allegations of abuse. They were aware of the responsibility to ‘whistle blow’ on colleagues who they thought might be delivering poor care to people.

People we spoke with told us they always received the care they were assessed for. They said the service was reliable and that visits were never missed. We found the service had a good system in place to alert managers if staff were late for a visit.

The manager completed an assessment before people started to use the service. The assessment ensured staff could meet people’s needs and that people who used the service benefitted from appropriate support. We saw the assessments were used to develop care plans and risk assessments. Risk assessment and care records detailed people’s needs and wishes and gave enough information to guide staff on how support should be provided.

People’s rights and choices were respected. Peoples records had not always been signed to indicate they gave their consent, but people and their relatives told us they had been involved in planning and agreeing how support was provided. The provider was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA)

We found there was a safe system in place for managing people medicines.

People who used the service were complimentary about the staff and the service they received. They said of the staff; “They are Brilliant”,” They are wonderful”, “They have a positive attitude” and “They are polite.”

The manager, managing director and staff we spoke with knew the people who used the service well. They knew their likes and dislikes and what was important to them. They were caring and respectful in the way the spoke about people who used the ser