This inspection took place on 23 March 2017 and was announced.

We previously inspected the service on 14 December 2015 and at that time we found the registered provider was meeting the regulations.

Home Caring Services is registered to provide personal care. Care and support is provided to people who live in their own homes within the locality of Pontefract. On the day of our inspection 40 people were receiving support with personal care.

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.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the service provided and they felt safe with Home caring services. Staff had received safeguarding training and they were aware of their responsibility to report any concerns to their manager. The service had procedures in place for identifying and following up allegations of abuse, and staff demonstrated a good knowledge of the procedures to follow.

Care plans contained risk assessments which were relevant to people’s individual needs and the environment and contained sufficient detail to provide direction for staff in how to reduce risks to people.

The registered provider had a robust system in place to vet potential employees. All staff who administered medicines were trained and assessed as competent. This meant people received their medicines from people who had the appropriate knowledge and skills.

Staff told us they felt supported. New employees were supported in their role completing a thorough induction and shadowing more experienced staff and there was a programme of on-going refresher training for existing staff. Staff told us they received supervision to ensure they had the skills and competence to meet people’s needs.

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act and understood people’s rights to make decisions about their lives. People told us they were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice

People who used the service told us staff were caring and kind. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and care plans reflected the need to encourage people to retain their independence. The service catered for people's diverse needs and people were matched to care staff to provide continuity of care.

People had care plans in place which noted the tasks they required support with, as well as detail about their choices and preferences. Staff told us these were reflective of people’s needs and we saw these were updated regularly.

People who used the service told us the service was well-led and they were very happy with the care provided.

The registered provider had a system in place to monitor the performance of the service. Staff were monitored at regular intervals and audits were completed of people’s daily records, care plans and staff files. The registered provider asked people who used the service and staff for feedback and this information was reviewed and fed back to staff.

The inspection of Home Caring Services took place on 14 December 2015 and was announced. Home Caring Services was registered with the Care Quality Commission in January 2015. This was the first inspection of the service since their registration.

Home Caring Services is registered to provide personal care. Care and support is provided to people who live in their own homes within the locality of Pontefract. One the day of our inspection 35 people were receiving support with personal care and 28 staff were employed by the service.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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 told us they felt safe and staff understood their responsibilities in keeping people safe from the risk of abuse.

Risks to people’s welfare had not been robustly assessed and relevant risk assessments had not always been implemented.

Recruitment of staff was thorough.

Staff received training in medicines management but recording of medicines was not always safe.

Staff were in the process of completing training in a variety of topics.

People told us staff were caring. Staff respected people’s right to privacy and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Care records contained a number of plans providing instructions for staff as to how people’s needs were to be met. Documents were reviewed at regular intervals.

There was a system in place to record and respond to complaints.

The systems of governance were not yet fully embedded.

Meetings were held with staff and the registered manager gained feedback from people who used the service.