This inspection took place on 15 and 16 September 2016 and was announced.

Quality home care provides personal care for people in their own homes. At this inspection they were providing care and support for 38 people.

A registered manager was in post at this inspection. 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 were safe as staff had been trained and understood how to support people in a way that protected them from danger, harm and abuse. Staff knew how to support people in a way that minimised the risks of harm associated with their care.

People were supported by enough staff to safely assist them and who arrived to provide support within the timescales agreed. People received help with their medicines from staff who were trained to safely support them.

The provider completed checks on staff before they started work to ensure they were safe to work with people. The provider had systems in place to address any unsafe staff practice.

People received care from staff that had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. New staff members received an induction to their role and were equipped with the skills they needed to work with people. Staff attended training that was relevant to the people they supported and any additional training needed to meet people’s requirements was provided.

Staff received support and guidance from a management team who they found approachable. People and staff felt able to express their views and felt their opinions mattered.

People had positive relationships with the staff members who supported them. People’s likes and dislikes were known by staff who assisted them in a way which was personal to them. People were involved in decisions about their care and had information they needed in a way they understood. People had their rights protected by staff members who were aware of current guidance informing their practice. People were given information in a way they could understand.

People had their privacy and dignity respected and information personal to them was treated with confidence. People had access to healthcare when needed and staff responded to any changes in needs promptly and consistently. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain good health.

The provider undertook regular quality checks in order to drive improvements. The provider engaged people and their families and encouraged feedback. People felt confident they were listened to and their views were valued.

People shared positive experiences of the care and support they received. Comments included, “They know me well” and, “The girls are excellent”.

Care plans provided staff with instructions on how people preferred their care needs to be met. People told us they or their relative were involved in the assessment process, planning and reviewing their care.

There were recruitment and selection processes in place. Checks were undertaken before staff began working unsupervised with the people who used the service.

Staff received training to keep people safe and meet the needs of the people who used the service. We saw there were support systems in place to ensure the care workers could carry out their role effectively.

The provider had a system in place to monitor the quality of the service it was providing. The views from people who used the service and staff were gained through satisfaction surveys and meetings.

We spoke with four people who used the service, six staff and two people’s representatives. All the people we spoke with were very satisfied with the care supplied by the agency. One person said, “I get my care just the way I like it.”

People told us they received information about the agency before they agreed to the service. They told us that the agency visited them and carried out an assessment of their needs before their service started. People said they were involved in planning and reviewing their care. They told us staff respected them and maintained their privacy and dignity.

People said they felt safe in the presence of their care workers. One person commented, “All the staff are very pleasant and I feel comfortable with them.” Care workers knew that they had a duty of care to take appropriate action to protect vulnerable people in their care.

People were complimentary about their care workers. One person said staff had positive attitudes, were reliable and had a caring nature. People considered staff were skilled in their work. Not all staff had received training to understand the specific health conditions of the people they supported.

People told us they were ‘very’ satisfied with the service they or their relative received. Comments included, “It’s a perfect service, the staff are great, we couldn’t ask for anything more.” “I’m more than happy with everything and wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”