This comprehensive inspection took place on 2 August 2018. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice as the service provides care to people living in their own homes and we needed to be sure the registered manager was available to assist with the inspection. Our last inspection of the service was on 5 July 2017 when we found one breach of the regulations as the provider’s audits were not identifying areas that needed to be improved. At the inspection on 02 August 2018 we found the provider had acted to address the breach and now met the regulation.

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 40 older adults.

Not everyone using Pringles Care Services Central receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

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.

People using the service and their relatives told us people were cared for safely. The provider had systems in place to keep people safe from abuse and care workers had completed safeguarding training.

The provider assessed risks to people using the service and their care workers and acted to mitigate the risks they identified.

The provider carried out checks on new staff to make sure they were suitable to work with people using the service. Care workers told us the checks were completed before they started to work with people.

Where people’s care plans included support with their medicines, the provider arranged this.

The provider acted to make improvements when things went wrong.

The provider assessed people’s care and support needs and delivered care and support in line with current legislation and guidance.

The provider’s training matrix showed that all care workers were up to date with training the provider considered mandatory. Care workers told us the training and support they received had given them the skills, knowledge and confidence they needed to carry out their duties and responsibilities effectively.

People’s care plans included information about their preferences for how they received care and support.

People using the service and their relatives told us their care workers were kind and treated them with respect.

The registered manager regularly reviewed people’s care plans and involved them in making decisions about their care.

People’s care records included information about what they could do for themselves and areas where they needed care and support.

This inspection took place on 28 June and 05 July 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to assist with the inspection. This was the first inspection of the service following its registration in June 2016.

Pringles Care Central provides care and support to 59 people living in their own homes. 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.

People may have been at risk of unsafe or inappropriate care as audits and checks the provider carried out were not always effective. For example, they had not identified that the time sheets care workers completed did not always accurately reflect the care and support people received and the need to review some people's risk assessments and improve the recording of support people received with their medicines. We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to good governance. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Some people and relatives were satisfied that they received their visits as planned and care workers stayed for the length of the visits. There were also instances where care workers were late or did not stay the length of the visits. Two of the time sheets we looked at showed care workers were with two clients at the same time and others did not allow for time to travel between people's homes.

The provider had systems in place to keep people safe and staff completed training to safeguard people using the service. The provider also carried out checks on new care workers to make sure they were suitable to work with people using the service.

Care workers did not always accurately follow people's care plans when supporting them with their medicines and their risk assessments were not reviewed and updated when necessary.

People were cared for and supported by care workers who were well trained and supported. Their care workers provided people with support for their nutritional or health care needs, when required.

The provider operated within the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People using the service or their relatives had been involved in their care planning and had signed to demonstrate they had given consent to the care and support they received.

The provider had systems in place to ask people about the care and support they received and people using the service and their relatives told us their care workers knew them well and provided the support they needed in a caring way. Care workers told us they tried to support people in the ways they wanted and helped people to maintain their independence.

Most people told us they received care which met their needs and reflected their care plans. Where people told us the provider could make improvements, the registered manager told us they would address these.

People’s care records included information about their care and support needs and care workers we spoke with told us they used these to make sure they provided the correct care for people.

The provider had a complaints procedure and they recorded and investigated complaints they received.

The provider had a qualified and experienced manager to run the service.