This inspection took place on 24 February 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a small domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office. The service provides domiciliary care and support to people living in the Kirby Muxloe, Ratby and Leicester Forest East areas of Leicestershire. At the time of our inspection there were 24 people using the service.

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.

Robust recruitment processes had not always been followed to ensure the suitability of people who worked at the service.

Support workers were aware of what they could and could not do with regards to people’s medicines. However, records of medicines to be prompted or assistance with specific medicines had not always been included in people’s plans of care.

We found that whilst some risks associated with people’s care and support had been assessed, other risks had not.

People had been visited prior to their care and support package commencing and an initial assessment had been completed. Whilst some assessments were more comprehensive than others, the support workers were all well aware of the individual needs of those they were supporting.

Plans of care had been developed, though these did not always include all of the tasks that the support workers were required to complete. Although they didn’t include all the tasks, support was being provided by regular support workers. These support workers knew the needs of the people they were supporting well and knew to carry out the tasks that had been omitted from the paperwork.

People told us they felt very safe with the support workers who supported them. They told us they were well looked after and relatives we spoke with agreed with this. Support workers were aware of their responsibilities for keeping people safe and knew what to do if they had a concern of any kind.

Support workers had been provided with an induction into the service and training was being completed. Support workers we spoke with felt very much supported by the registered manager and deputy manager. They told us there was always someone available to speak with should they need any help or guidance.

People told us that the support workers always asked for their consent before they provided their care and support. The support workers we spoke with understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and training on this subject was being completed.

We were told that the staff team were caring, kind and considerate and people’s care and support was always carried out in a dignified and respectful way.

People using the service knew what to do if they had a concern of any kind. They explained that they had been given the contact details of the registered manager and were confident that any issues would be immediately addressed by them.

The registered manager explained that they monitored the service on a daily basis and asked the people using the service for their thoughts on the service they received. The people using the service and their relatives confirmed this. The monitoring systems that were in place had not always been formally recorded.