We undertook this inspection of Sarah Cares on 23 and 24 January 2018. The inspection was announced, which meant that the provider knew we would be visiting. This is because we wanted to ensure that the provider, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to support the inspection.

The service was registered to provide a regulated activity with the Care Quality Commission in November 2016. This was the service’s first inspection since registering and had not been previously rated.

Sarah Cares provides personal care and support to older people in their own homes in the Bath area. At the time of our inspection there were 34 people receiving personal care and support from the service.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our 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 felt respected and listened to and were complimentary about both the registered manager and the care staff.

People received their visits from a consistent staff team and staff and the management knew people well.

People were cared for safely because staff understood how to keep people safe and when to notify the provider, health professionals or relatives about any concerns.

Staff knew people well and had developed caring relationships. People felt safe with staff and trusted them to deliver the care they needed in a way they preferred.

People were confident that care staff would arrive on time and would be somebody they knew. Everybody using the service knew the registered manager and had confidence in her.

People were supported by staff who had checks carried out prior to starting their employment. This ensured that staff were suitable to work with people in their own homes.

Staff felt supported and received training, supervisions and an annual appraisal to enable them to fulfil their role.

People were supported with the nutrition and hydration and when required staff made referrals when people’s needs changed.

The provider had systems in place to check the quality of the service. They identified any shortfalls and made changes to prevent these happening again. There was a comprehensive monitoring system in place to make sure the agency was meeting the high standards set by the provider.