The inspection took place on 9 September 2016 and was announced.

Longdene Homecare Ltd - North Surrey provides care and support to people in their own homes. The service provided personal care to 72 people at the time of our inspection.

People felt safe when staff supported them and told us they could rely on their care workers. They said staff understood their needs and any risks involved in their care. Risk assessments had been carried out to ensure people receiving care and the staff supporting them were safe. Incidents and accidents were recorded and analysed to identify what action could be taken to be taken to prevent a recurrence. Staff understood how to respond in the event of an emergency and there were plans in place to address the needs of those people most at risk if their care was interrupted. People received their medicines safely.

People were protected by the provider’s recruitment procedures. The provider carried out pre-employment checks to ensure they employed only suitable staff to work at the agency. Staff received training in safeguarding and were aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns they had about potential abuse.

Staff received the training and support they needed to do their jobs. All staff attended an induction when they started work and met regularly with their line manager to receive feedback about their performance and to discuss their training needs. Staff received training in core areas during their induction and ongoing refresher training thereafter.

The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which meant people’s care was provided in line with the Act. Mental capacity assessments had been carried out to establish whether people had the capacity to consent to decisions about their care. Where people lacked capacity, best interests meetings were held to ensure they received the support they needed to make decisions.

People’s nutritional needs were assessed before they began to use the service and any dietary needs recorded in their care plans. Where people needed assistance with eating and drinking a care plan had been developed to detail the support they required. The quality of meal preparation was checked by the management team during spot checks.

The agency worked co-operatively with people’s families to ensure their healthcare needs were met. Relatives told us staff were observant of any changes in their family member’s needs and said the provider contacted them if they had any concerns about people’s health or welfare.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. People said their care workers were polite, friendly and treated them with respect. They told us their care workers provided their care in an unhurried way and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. Relatives said care workers were caring in their approach and sensitive to their family members’ needs.

People received a service that was responsive to their needs. People’s needs were assessed before they began to use the service and an individual care plan drawn up. People were encouraged to be involved in the development of their care plans and the provider reviewed plans regularly to ensure they continued to reflect people’s needs and preferences. Staff were willing to be flexible to provide the service people needed.

The provider had a complaints procedure, which was given to people when they started to use the service. We found that any complaints received had been investigated appropriately and that complaints were used to improve the service people received.

People, relatives and staff were encouraged to give their views about the service and these were listened to. People and their relatives told us the management team contacted them regularly to ask for their feedback and took action to address any issues they raised. People told us the agency was well run and that they had always been able to contact the of

We spoke with two people that use the services of the agency and one relative on the telephone. Comments were overall very positive regarding the quality of care that was provided. We spoke both care co-ordinators who visited the office during our inspection; both told us they felt supported in their roles. When asked about the service the Registered Manager told us "We support people in the way they want to be supported, after all we are guests in their homes”.

People told us that they or their relatives were involved in the initial development of their care plan.

People told us they received care in a way which met their needs. One person commented, "I generally have regular staff, which I really appreciate”.

People told us that they felt safe with the agency staff and that the staff carried identification badges. The care co-ordinators told us that they had received safeguarding training as part of their induction and that the training was repeated on a yearly basis.

People were recruited safely and checks were undertaken to make sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. We looked at staff recruitment records for six staff. All staff files we saw complied with all legal requirements.

The provider had in place effective systems to assess and monitor the quality of service which sought people's views and changed practice as a consequence where required.

People we spoke with told us that staff were respectful and helpful and enabled people to make choices. People said that staff were caring. One person told us that they were “Very happy with all the carers,” another said that care was “Excellent.” However, two people told us that they sometimes felt rushed by staff.