Our inspection of Longdene Homecare Ltd South West Surrey took place on 16 December 2016 and was announced. 48 hours’ notice of the inspection was given because we wanted to be sure that a manager was available when we visited. We returned to the service on 29 December 2016 as we needed to review further information in order to complete the inspection process.

Longdene Homecare Ltd South West Surrey is a domiciliary care agency that provides a range of care support to adults living in their own homes. People who used the service have a range of support needs including physical and sensory impairments, learning disabilities and mental health needs, with the majority of people living with conditions associated with ageing, such as dementia. In addition to providing personal care, the service also assisted people with domestic tasks, such as shopping, housework and meal preparation. At the time of our inspection the service supported 179 people.

The service has 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 that they felt safe when receiving care. Staff members understood how to safeguard the people whom they supported. Training had been provided to staff members in relation to safeguarding. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to ensure that people’s needs were met and that there was continuity of care in the case of staff absence. The provider had carried out checks to ensure that staff members were of good character and suitable for the work that they were engaged in.

Medicines were well managed by the service. People’s medicines were managed and given to them appropriately. Records of medicines were well maintained.

Arrangements were in place to ensure that risks associated with the provision of care and support were assessed and managed. Risk assessments were linked to management plans, were up to date and reflected people’s current support needs.

Staff received regular training that covered a wide range of topics and met national training standards for staff working in health and social care services. They were able to describe the training that they had received. Training and information had been provided to staff about The Mental Capacity Act (2005), including the Deprivation of Liberties Safeguards. Information about people’s capacity to consent was contained within their care plans, and staff were able to describe how they supported people to make decisions and choices about their care.

Arrangements were in place to ensure that staff were provided with regular supervision by a manager. Training was provided that addressed standards for staff working in social care service. Staff members spoke positively about the training and support that they received.

Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported, and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People told us that they thought that staff who worked with them were professional, caring and respectful, and gave examples of how they were supported to maintain independence as much as possible. Staff spoke positively about the work that they did and the people whom they supported.

People told us that they knew how to contact the office and were confident that the provider would deal with complaints appropriately and quickly. People also said that they had received questionnaires or visits from a manager to obtain feedback about the service that they received. We saw that people’s feedback about the service showed high levels of satisfaction with the care and support that they received.

There were effective processes in place to monitor the care and welfare of people and improve the quality of t

Longdene Homecare Ltd provides domiciliary care services to people who live in their own homes. At the time of our visit we were informed that there were currently 170 people using their service. People’s care packages were tailored to people’s needs, which varied from living in services to visiting support up to four times a day. Longdene Homecare Ltd is part of CHD Living.

During our visit to the Longdene Homecare offices we looked at records which included care files of people who use the service, personnel file of employees and information the provider used to assess and monitor the quality of the service. We spoke with four individuals who use the service on the telephone and visited the homes of three people and spoke with a relative. During the home visits we were able to observe how staff interacted and supported people. We saw staff treat people in a sensitive, respectful and professional manner.

People told us that they were happy with the support they received and that the staff were very good. One person told us that they felt “safe” and that the staff were “very kind and caring”. One individual told us that staff treated them with respect. A relative told us staff visit four times a day and that that it had worked out better than they thought it would and they were very happy with the support.

We saw that care plans were person centred and people's care needs were reviewed. We found that Longdene Homecare Ltd had processes in place to regularly monitor the quality of the service.

We telephoned six people who used the service and some of their relatives to gain their views.

People using the service or their relatives told us they had had an assessment of their support and care needs before they started receiving support from the service. They said that they felt involved and included about their care and in deciding upon the support they required.

One person told us that they felt the service they received was ‘exceptional’ whilst another person told us the agency was 'marvellous.’ Other comments included the service was ‘first class’ and '100% fabulous'. People told us that they felt the staff were friendly, reliable, kind, polite and courteous.

One person told us the staff at the office and the arrangements they made about their visits were very good. They said they felt they could always contact the office staff when they needed to.

We found that the service had arrangements in place to protect people from harm and had the required recruitment vetting practices in place to protect people from harm as far as was reasonably practicable.

We found that the service had an effective complaints procedure. People we spoke with told us they had not had any reason to complain but felt their concerns or complaints would be dealt with professionally and promptly.