About the service: Sapphire Quality Care Agency Limited is a domiciliary care service that provides support and personal care to a small number of older people. The service was providing personal care to 50 people at the time of the inspection. The service employed six office staff including the registered manager and 23 care staff.

People’s experience of using this service:

Safe recruitment practices had been followed and sufficient numbers of staff had been recruited. People told us staff usually arrived at the time they expected them and stayed for the contracted amount of time. People told us they received safe care. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and how to raise any concerns they had. Risks to people had been assessed and measures put in place to reduce these risks.

Complaints were managed well with outcomes and actions clearly documented.

Medicines were managed safely and staff completed training and had regular spot checks regarding this.

Care plans documented people's nutritional needs and these were known and met by staff. People told us they always received their choice of food and enjoyed the meals prepared for them.

Staff received regular training and supervision. They also attended staff meetings and had regular practice checks in the community. Staff we spoke with felt well supported in their role and able to raise any issues with senior staff and the registered manager.

The registered manager and staff worked with other professionals and agencies to help ensure people's needs were met effectively. Advice provided was clearly recorded and followed by staff.

Consent to care and treatment was sought in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us staff always asked for their consent before providing support. People’s chosen advocates was documented in their care plans.

People told us staff were kind and caring and that their dignity was protected. This was also reflected within the discussions we had with people and their relatives during this inspection.

Care plans reflected people's needs, and held person-centred information. The care files had been reviewed regularly and people were involved in these reviews.

Systems were in place to gather feedback from people regarding the service and action was taken to improve the service, based on the feedback. The registered manager also completed regular audits and addressed any areas identified as requiring improvement in order to improve the service.

Rating at last inspection: This is Sapphire Quality Care Agency Limited’s first inspection since becoming registered in July 2017.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection and the first for this service.

Follow up: Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.