We undertook an announced inspection on 1 June 2017.

We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office. Homecare Malvern is a domiciliary care agency who provide personal care and support for people living in the community with a range of needs. At the time of our inspection 15 people received support with personal care.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a manager in post who was in the process of applying to be the registered manager for this service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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 said they had support from regular staff who knew them well. Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns. Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual risks, and were able to respond to peoples’ needs. People were supported to receive their medicines by trained staff who knew the risks associated with them.

Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people. Staff always ensured people gave their consent to the support they received. People we spoke with explained they were supported to make their own decisions and felt listened to by staff. People were supported to eat and drink well when part of their identified needs. People and their relatives told us staff would support them to access health professionals when they need to.

People and their relatives said staff and management team were caring and kind. They said people were treated with dignity and respect, and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People said they were involved in making choices about how they were supported. Relatives told us they were involved as part of the team to support their family member.

People said staff were adaptable to changes in their needs. People and their relatives knew how to raise complaints and the management team had arrangements in place to ensure people were listened to and appropriate action taken. Staff were involved in meetings, to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. People and staff said the management team were accessible and supportive to them.

The management team monitored the quality of the service in an inclusive way. The manager was cultivating a culture of openness and inclusion for people using the service and staff. The management team had systems in place to identify improvements and action them in a timely way.

We undertook an announced inspection on 16 October 2015. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes and or the family home; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.

The provider registered this service with us to provide personal care and support for people with a range of varying needs including dementia, who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 18 people received support with personal care.

There was a registered manager for this service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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 and their relatives said they had no concerns about the care they received. People told us staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns.

Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual risks, and were able to respond to people’s needs. People were supported to receive their medicines by staff that were trained and knowledgeable about the risks associated with them.

People and their relatives told us staff treated people with dignity and respect whilst supporting their needs. Staff really knew people well, and took people’s preferences into account and respected them. The management team were responsive to changes in people’s needs and cascaded information effectively.

Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people. Staff were knowledgeable about ensuring people gave their consent to the support they received. They worked within the confines of the law which meant they did not treat people unlawfully. There were no applications to the court of protection to deprive people of their liberty.

People were supported when needed to eat and drink well. Relatives told us they were always kept up to date with any concerns for their family member. People and their relatives told us they had access to health professionals as soon as they were needed.

People and their relatives knew how to raise complaints and the registered manager had arrangements in place to ensure people were listened to and action taken if required. Staff were encouraged to be involved in regular meetings to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve most aspects of the quality of the service. The provider had supported the registered manager with making improvements to the service by recruiting additional members of the management team.