We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 16 February 2018. Home Instead Senior Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It currently provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using Individual Homecare Services 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 at the time of our inspection. 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.

At the time of the inspection Home Instead Senior Care supported 44 people who received some element of support with their personal care. This is the service’s third inspection under its current registration. At the previous inspection the service was rated as ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection they maintained that rating.

People continued to receive safe care. The risks to people’s safety were assessed and in the majority of cases regularly reviewed. Staff arrived on time for calls and people told us they stayed for the agreed length of time. Staff were recruited safely. People were supported safely with their medicines, although some records were not always regularly reviewed. Processes were in place that ensured accidents and incidents were monitored, reviewed and where needed, measures put in place to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

People’s care was provided in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. People were supported by staff that had completed a detailed induction and training programme and had their performance reviewed. Staff felt supported by the registered manager. People were supported effectively with their meals when needed. Information was available to support the involvement of other health and social care agencies where further support was needed for people. People 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 support this practice. However, there were a small number of examples where an assessment of a person’s capacity may have been needed.

People praised the staff that supported them. They felt they were kind, compassionate and caring and provided them with care in a dignified and respectful way. The minimum duration of one-hour calls meant staff were able to build positive relationships with people. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs. Where able, people or their relatives, were involved with making decisions about their care. People’s diverse needs were respected and independence was encouraged.

Prior to starting with the service, people’s needs were assessed to determine whether the service could meet those needs. People and relatives felt involved with the process of agreeing the care that was needed. Care records contained detailed, person centred guidance for staff to provide care in the way people wanted. People were treated equally, without discrimination and systems were in place to support people who had communication needs. People felt able to make a complaint and were confident it would be dealt with appropriately.

The service was well led by a registered manager who was well liked by relatives, staff and the people they supported. Staff felt valued and enjoyed their job. Exceptional staff performance was rewarded. People and staff were encouraged to contribute to the development of the service. Effective auditing processes were in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered mana

This inspection took place on 13 January 2016. Home Instead Senior Care is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own home. On the day of our inspection 54 people were receiving personal care from the 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.

People told us they felt safe and staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and appropriately managed.

There was a sufficient number of suitable staff available to meet people’s needs and people received the support required to safely manage their medicines.

Staff were provided with the knowledge and skills to care for people effectively. People received the support they required to have enough to eat and drink. Staff acted appropriately in contacting healthcare professionals and supported people to attend appointments.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Procedures were in place to act upon any concerns about people’s capacity to make their own decisions. People were asked for their consent before receiving any care.

There were positive and caring relationships between people and staff and people told us staff were genuinely caring. People and their relatives were fully involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and staff supported people to make day to day decisions. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People were provided with care that was responsive to their changing needs and staff punctuality was good. There was a system in place to monitor staff punctuality and ensure that people always received the care required. There was a clear complaints procedure in place which was provided to people and complaints had been appropriately responded to.

People were asked for their opinions about the quality of the service they received and action was taken in response to any issues raised. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and these resulted in improvements to the service where required.

During our inspection we spoke with sixteen people who used the service, or relatives of these people, to ask them for their views on the quality of the service they received. All of the people we spoke with told us they were very satisfied with the service provided.

People who used the service, and their relatives or representatives, felt that they had been involved in making decisions about the arrangements for delivering care and support. Each person’s needs had been assessed and this information had been updated on a regular basis.

There were policies and procedures in place to help protect people who used the service from harm. If there were any concerns about a person’s welfare or safety action was taken.

Staff had been supported to enable them to deliver safe and effective care. They had received appropriate induction training at the beginning of their employment. The manager of the service carried out regular checks to make sure that staff carried out their roles effectively.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the overall quality of the service. This included speaking to people who used the service to ask them for their views and checking written records to ensure they were properly completed.