This announced inspection took place at the provider’s office on 03 November 2017 with phone calls undertaken to people with experience of the service on 07 November 2017. This was our first inspection of the service.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to younger and older adults. At the time of our inspection six people were receiving personal care from the provider.

The service had 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.

Records available in people’s homes provided guidance about how risks to people should be managed and monitored to ensure their safety. Training was provided to care staff about how to identify and protect people from any potential abuse they may experience. People benefitted from consistency in the care staff that supported them who arrived on time and stayed for the correct amount of time. Care staff provided support and care to people that protected them from the spread of infection.

People’s needs were fully assessed and all aspects of how their health and well-being should be met were considered. Care staff had the skills and knowledge required to support people effectively. Care staff were able to access support at any time if they needed to and also had planned supervision provided. People’s consent was sought before care staff supported or provided them with any assistance. People received appropriate support to ensure they ate and drank adequately. Referrals to relevant healthcare services were made as required when changes to health or wellbeing were identified.

People were supported by care staff with care and compassion. Care staff supported the same people regularly and had knowledge of people’s individual needs. The provider was willing to work around barriers to ensure people received the care they needed. Care staff were respectful and people were supported with their privacy and dignity in mind. People were provided with suitable information about the service and were supported with their individual communication needs.

People's needs had been assessed prior to them starting to use the service to ensure the provider and care staff were able to meet these. The provider was keen to support and meet people’s personalised needs. Care staff were provided with the most up to date information about people in order to provide the care and support they needed in line with their preferences. People were involved in review meetings and in making decisions about their care. The provider was flexible and accommodating if people needed to change the time of a call. People knew how to make a complaint.

People were happy with the standard of care that they received. People, relatives and care staff were confident about the leadership and management of the service. People's care records were reviewed and effective action was taken as required when their needs changed or health issues were identified. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies to get the best outcomes for people using the service. Staff understood what they would do if they learnt of or witnessed bad practice and how they would report any concerns. The provider was keen to actively involve people to express their views about the service provided. The registered manager understood how incidents needed to be investigated fully and reported where appropriate to external bodies.