About the service:

Mayfield Homecare Services Limited is a domiciliary agency providing care and support for people in their own homes.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their relatives told us they felt safe and staff were kind and caring. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs in a flexible, timely way and to ensure their safety. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Risk assessments were carried out to allow people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others.

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 supported this practice. People’s needs were assessed prior to them using the service. All staff received ongoing training and support and arrangements were in place for new staff to receive induction training.

People received care and support from a consistent team of staff with whom they were familiar. Staff arrived on time and stayed for the full time allocated. People told us they were always treated with kindness, care and respect and without discrimination. Staff had developed good relationships with people and had spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes.

People were involved in discussions and decisions about the care and support they needed and could influence the delivery of their care. Staff had up to date information about people’s needs and there were effective systems in place to respond when their needs changed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and their healthcare needs were monitored as appropriate. People were supported with their dietary needs in accordance with their care plan.

People were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to should they raise any concerns. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service, although some improvements were needed in this area. People’s feedback was sought in relation to the standard of care and support. People and relatives told us that they were very satisfied with the service provided and with the way it was managed.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of "good" in all key questions. More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection of July 2016, the service was rated Good.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe and high-quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

The inspection took place on 21, 22, 23 June 2016 and was announced. This was to make sure that the registered managers, staff and people who used the service would be available to speak with us as part of our inspection. When we last inspected the service in October 2013 the service was found to have met the essential standards we looked at.

Mayfield Homecare Services Limited is registered to carry out the regulated activity of personal care. The agency's office is located in the centre of Warrington. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Warrington and the surrounding area. The service currently provides personal care to 98 people.

There were two registered managers in place who shared the overall management role. 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 happy, safe and well cared for by the service. They told us they trusted the staff, who were kind and reliable. Staff told us and records showed that staff received training in how to safeguard people from abuse and report any concerns they may have.

Staff were aware of the procedures to follow to ensure that medicines were managed safely. Risks to people and the environment were regularly assessed in order to protect people from avoidable harm.

We found that there were robust recruitment checks to ensure people were suitable to work in the health and social care environment and records showed that the staff turnover was low. This assisted the service to provide consistency and continuity of care.

The service ensured that there were enough staff available to cover for emergencies, absences or other leave in order to ensure that there were no missed calls.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of how they would obtain consent to care. They had an awareness of how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Standards applied in practice.

The registered managers and staff had developed caring relationships with the people they supported and clearly knew them and their needs and choices very well. People who used the service and their family, where appropriate, were involved in the planning and reviews of the care and support provided. The confidentiality of information held about people's medical and personal histories was maintained.

Support was provided in a way that promoted people's dignity and respected their privacy. People received care that met their needs and took account of their preferences.

People felt that the registered managers and staff listened to them and responded to any concerns in a positive way. People knew how to complain should the need arise.

All the comments received about the service were most positive and complimentary about the way the service was operated and the reliability and professionalism of the staff.

We spoke with eight people who used the service. People said that staff treated them with dignity and respect. They said staff treated them kindly at all times.

People told us that staff generally arrived and left at the designated times. If they were late, staff either rang to let people know or apologised for being late when they arrived. People said they felt safe and had no worries or concerns in relation to staff. Comments included: "all staff provide me with safe care”; "staff here have done so well for me” and "I do trust them."

Staff recruitment and selection processes ensured that the people who were employed were suitable to provide care and support to vulnerable people.

The agency had a variety of quality assurance systems available to assess the quality of the service it was providing to people. This included feedback forms that were given to people as an ongoing process to gain their perceptions of the service.

During our inspection we looked at care and staff recruitment records. We did this to confirm people were being well supported and staff members had been recruited properly. We also spoke with people being supported and their family members. They told us they were receiving safe and appropriate care which was meeting their needs. They said the staff members visiting them were polite, reliable and very professional when undertaking their work. Comments received included:

“We have only been with the agency a short time. I have been very impressed with their professionalism. We were visited before the service started and provided with a brochure about the agency. I sat and discussed my husbands needs and the care they could provide for him. It’s working very well at the moment”.

“The staff who visit me are very compassionate and helpful people. They provide a very prompt and reliable service”.

“I have the same group of staff who visit me. They have a very good understanding of my needs and the care I require. I was poorly recently and they were brilliant with me. I am very happy with the service and have no complaints”.

We visited a number of people who use the agency and asked them about their experiences about the service. They said staff encouraged them to express their views about the services provided.

One person said “The agency does their best and they try hard to let me have the carers I respect”.

People told us that the staff were lovely and did their best to provide good quality care. They said they were generally happy with the care, consistency and support provided.