About the service: Sanctuary Home Care Ltd - Basildon is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 23 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People’s outcomes were consistently good and their feedback about the service confirmed this.

Care and support was personalised and met their needs. People told us the service enabled them to remain as independent as possible and to live in their own homes.

People were cared for by a consistent team of staff who were skilled and competent in providing care and support. Staff and the registered manager showed a genuine interest and passion to deliver personalised care based on people's likes, wishes and preferences.

People’s needs were assessed and monitored. Risks to their health and wellbeing were recorded.

Safe infection control procedures were in place and people were given their medicines as prescribed.

The service followed good practice guidance and met their legal requirements. People’s capacity was considered and they or their legal representatives consented to their care.

Staff had effective induction, training and support to carry out their role. Staff were caring, kind and considerate.

Staff had access to up to date information about how to support people. Communication with health and social care professionals was effective in ensuring people received joined up care.

Systems were in place to audit the quality and delivery of care to people. The service was well led by an experienced and established registered manager.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated as Good at the last inspection. The report was published on 18 April 2016.

Why we inspected: This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received. The overall rating at this inspection was Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

More information is in the full report.

The inspection took place on 18th April 2016. Sanctuary Home Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and domestic support to people as part of extra care housing services and provides support to people in their own homes. There are currently 34 people who use the service.

The service has 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.

People were protected from abuse as staff knew what constituted abuse and who to report it to if they suspected it had taken place. There was sufficient staff employed to meet peoples care and support needs and keep them safe. People were administered medication safely and written records accurately reflected medicines administered.

The service understood how to manage risk in a way that kept people safe whilst respecting people’s rights and freedom to exercise choice and control.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect people who cannot make decisions for themselves or lack the mental capacity to do so. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the MCA. They aim to make sure that people in care homes, hospitals and supported living are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The provider followed the principles of the MCA by ensuring that people consented to their care or were supported by representatives to make decisions.

Staff were supported to carry out their role effectively through the provision of appropriate training and supervision and competency checks to ensure they had the skills and experience to meet people’s needs.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and access to health care services to maintain their health and wellbeing. When people became unwell staff responded quickly and sought the appropriate support.

Care workers had positive relationships with people who used the services. Care was personalised and met people's individual needs and preferences. People, or their representatives, where appropriate, were involved in making decisions about their care and support and felt listened to and included. Care workers treated people with dignity and respect and promoted peoples independence.

Staff told us that were well supported by the management team. The provider had a complaints procedure and people knew how to use it. People’s concerns and complaints were listened to and addressed in a timely manner.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and this was used constructively to drive improvements.