We inspected Lone Care Service on 29 June 2017. The inspection was announced. Lone Care Service provides personal care to adults in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people receiving support from the service.

This was the first inspection of Lone Care Service which registered with the Care Quality Commission in October 2016.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection who had many years' experience working in adult social care. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff knew how to identify the signs of potential abuse and how to report their concerns.

Risks to people were assessed and risk management plans devised and regularly reviewed, to help ensure the care provided was appropriate for people’s needs. There was a sufficient number of trained staff who had been through appropriate recruitment checks to ensure they were suitable for their role.

Staff arrived on time for their visits and the right number of staff were available to provide the support people required. People received their medicines as prescribed from staff who had been assessed by the registered manager as competent to do so safely.

Staff were required to undergo an induction and the provider trained staff in aspects of care relevant to their role. This helped to ensure people were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to care for them effectively.

People were involved in the decisions about how they wanted their care and support needs met. Staff asked for people’s consent before providing support and understood the importance of respecting people’s choices and rights. People felt listened to and respected by staff.

People were encouraged to give their feedback and views about the quality of the service they received. There was an appropriate system in place to record and investigate complaints.

The communication between the office and care staff was effective. Care records were personalised, regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they reflected people’s current needs.

Staff were kind, caring and considerate; they respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff supported people to access healthcare services when required and to have sufficient to eat and drink. People were satisfied with the quality of care provided.

People felt the service was well-managed and that the management team were friendly and approachable. Leadership within the service was strong and an open and positive culture was promoted. Staff felt listened to and said they were confident in their roles and aware of their responsibilities. There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.