The inspection took place on 23, 24 and 26 January 2018 and was announced. This was our second inspection of the service. At our previous inspection in November 2015 we rated this service good overall.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using Heritage Healthcare - Trafford receives 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.

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. The registered manager, management team and office staff were all motivated and clearly passionate about making a difference to people's lives. This enthusiasm was also shared with care staff we spoke with, who recognised they were ambassadors for the company and acted accordingly.

The values of honesty, excellence, approachability, respectfulness and teamwork (H.E.A.R.T.) were at the centre of the company’s ethos and they strived to appoint and retain staff who were able to effectively demonstrate each of these values.

People and their relatives provided extremely positive feedback that demonstrated the service was exceptionally caring, in both approach and practice. Words used to describe staff included ‘wonderful’, ‘amazing’, ‘dedicated’, ‘passionate’ and ‘professional’.

People were empowered, being involved in making decisions about their lives. People's care and support was planned proactively in partnership with them. There was an emphasis on continuous improvement. The views of people using the service were at the core of quality monitoring and helped shape service delivery.

The service was committed at putting the person at the centre of everything they did. People received personalised care and support based on their assessed needs. People and others that mattered to them had been involved in identifying these needs and how these should be met.

The company went to great lengths in ensuring that people and carers were well matched, shared the same interests in life or had similar personality traits. People were given ‘a new lease of life’. Staff were passionate about the role they played in enhancing people’s social lives.

People using the service were introduced to meaningful activities and were given the opportunity to use technology, with assistance. People were given encouragement and support to reach their full potential and live life to the full, assisted by passionate staff responsive to their needs.

People consistently told us they were supported by staff members who had excellent caring skills and an in depth knowledge of their needs. People told us that staff were well trained, were competent in their work and attentive to their needs and that staff went over and above their duties to make sure they were well looked after. People felt safe and comfortable with the level of skill and expertise demonstrated by staff.

People's care was planned and delivered to maintain their health and well-being. The service was proactive in ensuring that any changes to support were communicated to them immediately so that people received care effective to their needs.

The service regarded people as an extended family and this was apparent in the little extras that the company provided. People appreciated the caring nature displayed by the company and its staff and we saw the positive impact this care had on people’s lives.

Staff showed empathy and had an enabling attitude that encouraged and motivated people to challenge themselves. Care workers were committed to putting people at the centre of the care they received and included people in the decision making process. Care workers showed genuine int

We inspected this service on 4 November 2015. The inspection was unannounced which means they did not know we were coming to the service to undertake an inspection. The service had not been inspected since it was registered in June 2015.

Heritage Healthcare is a new domiciliary agency providing support to 16 clients in and around the areas of Sale, Flixton and Stockport.

On the day of inspection there were 6 members of staff employed by the service. Interviews had taken place the day before the inspection and the provider told us that they were looking to recruit one additional member to the care team.

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.

A registered manager was not in post on the day of inspection. The previous registered manger had left the service the week before this inspection took place but we found this had not disrupted the service. The provider was intending to appoint a particular individual as the new manager who had extensive experience in the public health sector. We were able to meet with them on the day of inspection and saw the quality checks that they had undertaken that week.

Staff ratios were adequate to meet the needs of people using the agency. The service had robust recruitment processes in place to ensure that the right people were appointed. Proper recruitment checks were carried out, including checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We found people were involved in assessing their needs and in their care planning. Relatives and people who used the service told us the staff were caring. Staff were able to describe the procedures in place to report concerns if they felt someone was at risk of harm and abuse and people told us they felt safe when receiving care and support from staff.

Staff were aware of infection control and took the necessary precautions to help prevent the spread of infection whilst working in the community. Medicines were obtained, stored and administered safely although not all staff involved in the administering of medication had been assessed as competent to do so.

People, their relatives, staff and other professionals were complimentary about the service. Mechanisms were in place to deal with any complaints raised, however, people told us they had had no reason to complain.

The service ensured that all staff were trained to enable them to deliver safe and effective care and the provider invested in the personal development of the staff.

There was an effective system of audits in place to monitor the quality of the service and to improve where necessary. At the time of our inspection the provider had recognised and prioritised areas for improvement and was working towards these with the full support of the staff.