Nightingale Homecare provides personal care for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 61 people were using the service. This was a first comprehensive ratings inspection of this service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The service was safe. Staff had assessed risks to individuals and mitigated them appropriately. Staff were aware of safeguarding procedures and knew how to report any concerns they had. There were enough staff and people’s visits were always covered. Staff were recruited safely.

Staff supported people safely to take their medicines and the records were clear. Where needed, staff provided prompting for people to take their own medicines.

People received a high standard of care from trained staff. Staff received supervisions regularly and felt supported at work. They sought consent before delivering care and were aware of individual’s mental capacity to make decisions. Staff supported people to access healthcare services when required.

Staff supported people with their meals when they needed, and encouraged people to drink enough. These needs were also specified in people’s care plans.

People were cared for by staff who knew them well and communicated effectively with them. Staff went above their expected duties to ensure that people maintained as much comfort and well-being as possible. People were involved and consulted about their care, and their independence, privacy and dignity was promoted.

People received individualised care according to their own needs, and when they changed, staff responded and were flexible. People were asked for their feedback on the service they received and knew how to raise a concern and who to, if they needed to.

The service had a positive staff team, and good leadership was in place. There were systems in place to ensure that high quality care was delivered continuously and any potential problems would be identified in a timely manner.