The inspection took place between 12 and 18 December 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice so that people would know we were coming and would be available to meet us and speak with us if they wanted to.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to mainly older adults. Hallifax Care Limited provides care and support to people living in Hollingdean, Preston Park and Patcham areas of Brighton. The service was supporting over 130 people at the time of the inspection.

Not everyone using Hallifax Care Limited 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 consider any wider social care provided.

CQC previously carried out a comprehensive inspection of this service on 19 and 20 April 2016. The service was rated ‘Good’ overall and continues to provide a good service to people.

The service continued to be run by 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 legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The provider and registered manager had worked together to continuously improve the service since the last inspection. They had continued the links they had with the local community and with professionals to make sure people had the support they needed. This had made a difference to a lot of people. They continued to be good at responding to people’s changing needs and working with them creatively to get the right support, this had enabled a lot of people to stay at home where they wanted to be.

Everyone we contacted or spoke with said positive things about the service provided by Hallifax Care Limited. Everyone was complimentary about the staff and management team. People continued to feel safe when staff were in their homes, risks and medicines continued to be well managed. Staff were subject to recruitment checks and were well trained and supervised.

Each person had a care plan detailing their support needs. People’s wishes should they become ill were recorded in their care plans. People were involved in any assessments and felt listened to and any concerns and complaints were investigated and responded to. People were supported to make choices and decisions and staff understood their responsibilities about mental capacity and consent.

There were enough staff to cover each call and staff arrived on time and stayed for the allocated time. People told us that the service was reliable. Staff liked working for Hallifax care, some working for the agency for several years. People told us that staff were very kind, respectful and caring.

Staff worked with people, relatives and other professionals to make sure people had the support they needed. There were links with the community and the local school recently hosted a party for people whom the agency supported to attend.

The service continued to be well led, the registered manager was skilled and experienced in leading the service. People were asked about their views of the service and these were acted on to improve the support people received. The registered manager met with people and observed the staff to make sure people continued to receive good support. The registered manager had notified CQC of incidents and events as required and displayed their rating as required.

The inspection took place on the 19 and 20 April 2016 and was announced. The provider was given notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We wanted to be sure that someone would be in to speak with us.

Hallifax Care Limited is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support services for a range of people living in their own homes. These included older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection just over a hundred people were receiving a care service.

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

The experiences of people were positive. People and relatives told us they felt safe and staff were kind and the care they received was good. One person told us “Smashing lot of girls, they are just like a group of friends as they seem to care about me, which has not always been the case with other agencies.” Another person said ““[My carer] is lovely, so very caring and they do the extra things as well. For example, my husband needed to change a light bulb so [my carer] got the ladders in and helped him, very thoughtful she was.”

People were safe with the care staff who supported them. Staff were recruited following thorough recruitment procedures and received training to ensure they were aware of safeguarding issues and reported any concerns. Assessments were consistently completed and had enough detail recorded for care staff to follow safe practice. Staff could tell us the measures required to maintain safety for people in their homes. Where risks were identified plans were put in place to manage the risk with the aim of reducing or eliminating it. People were supported to receive their medicines safely. The records of medicines administered were consistent.

Staff had undertaken essential training as well as training that was specific to people’s needs and conditions. People felt that the staff were well trained and felt confident that they had the right skills to meet their needs. Staff received regular training to ensure they had up to date information to undertake their roles and responsibilities. They were offered the opportunity to undertake additional training and development courses to increase their skills in care.One member of staff told us, “The trainers gave me all the information I need to do my job well, for example in medicine, manual handling, diabetes and epilepsy. On top of that I did dementia, stoma and end of life care in a group with other care staff on a course run by Brighton [and Hove local authority]”.

The service considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.

People received the service they expected and had agreed to receive. They confirmed staff respected their privacy and dignity. One relative told us, “Staff are very good, let me give you an example, I was asked to leave the room while personal care was being delivered. Staff seem very caring and they have built up a relationship over time.” Staff had understood the principles of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control. The service had identified people’s needs and preferences in order to plan and deliver their care.

There were clear lines of accountability. The family owned and run service had good leadership and direction from the provider and registered manager. Staff told us they were supported by their supervisors and managers to undertake their roles. Staff rece

A single inspector carried out this inspection. The focus of the inspection was to answer five key questions; is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what people using the service, their relatives, visitors and the staff told us and an expert by experience, what we observed and the records we looked at. If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is it safe?

Care was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. We saw care plans that were sufficiently detailed to allow care workers to deliver safe and responsive care. People told us that they were happy with the care and support that they received. A person who used the service said, "I do very well with their help. My carers go the extra mile and it makes such a difference to me.” One care worker told us, “All I need to know is in the care plan.”

People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because Hallifax Care had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

Is it effective?

The provider had clear procedures to obtain consent that were followed in practice, monitored and reviewed. Care plans were personalised and included information on the person’s life history. This enabled staff to provide care that was personalised and appropriate to that person.

We saw that there were systems in place to support staff. A member of staff said, “It’s lovely working here. The best job I’ve ever had and that’s because everybody who works here is so open. Managers are approachable and their values are our values.”

Is it caring?

Staff spoke with compassion and kindness for the people they supported. People were supported by committed and attentive staff. We found that people were treated with dignity and respect. A relative told us, “I did worry about having a care agency come in to help look after [my relative] but it was all unnecessary as they have helped in all the tasks and I have complete confidence in them now.”

It is responsive?

People told us that they felt happy and confident approaching staff with any concerns. We found that care plans looked at ways of improving the person's health and wellbeing, quality of life and how to increase their level of control and choice.

Is it well-led?

The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others. Quality and compliance audits were regularly conducted. Where it was required, responses to the audits findings were developed and these were recorded.

During our visit we spoke with five people who used the service, the relatives of two people who used the service and seven staff members. We also took information from other sources which included a satisfaction survey and meeting minutes.

The people we spoke with told us they were pleased with the care they had received and with the staff team. One person who used the service told us "I am very pleased with the care, they can’t do enough.” Another person who used the service we spoke with told us "The girls couldn’t be kinder to me than if they were my own daughters.” Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the support needs of the people who used the service. One member of staff we spoke with told us "I feel that what I do is important. It makes a difference to peoples’ lives but it’s just as important that we’ve got a nice friendly team behind us, supporting us.”

During our visit, staff we spoke with confirmed that they had felt well supported. We saw that the service had ensured staff had the skills and experience necessary to deliver care. The service had systems in place to provide clear, accurate and up to date information about the care of people who used the service.

The people we spoke with who used the service told us that they had received information about the agency and knew who they could speak to if they had any concerns. People who used the service told us that they were happy with the support they received to take their medication.

Positive comments that we received from people who use the service and their relatives indicated a high level of satisfaction with the agency and the care and support provided:

‘They couldn’t have been kinder if they were my own daughters’.

‘My mother has received care from Hallifax for over 5 years and they have been absolutely superb, so consistent, professional and reliable’.