Solihull Home Care is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care support to people in their own homes. At the time of our visit the agency supported approximately 23 people with personal care and employed 23 care staff.

We visited the offices of Solihull Home Care on 10 August 2016. We told the provider 48 hours before the visit we were coming so they could arrange to be available to talk with us about the service.

This was the first inspection of the service since registration.

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. The registered manager was also an owner of the company.

We received some excellent feedback from people we spoke with about the service and the staff that visited them. People said the kindness of staff exceeded their expectations of how they would be cared for and supported. People were extremely happy with the care they received, they said staff were very caring and had made a positive difference to their lives. People received care from regular staff they knew well and were able to build friendships with. Staff we spoke with were highly motivated to provide a good service to people they supported. Staff often provided additional voluntary support to some of the people they visited, with their consent.

People were involved in the planning of their care, and care plans focused on the individual’s preferences and how they would like their care delivered. Plans were regularly reviewed to make sure people continued to have the support they needed. Detailed guidance was provided to staff about how to provide all areas of the care and support people needed.

People felt safe using the service and managers and staff understood their responsibility to protect people from abuse and keep people safe. There were procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care and for managing people’s medicines safely. Checks were carried out prior to care staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service.

The managers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and staff respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.

There were enough staff to deliver the care and support people required. People told us they received support from a regular team of staff who had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively. The managers had completed qualifications to develop their skills and manage the service effectively.

People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available to them. Staff said they could raise any concerns or issues with the management team, knowing they would be listened to and acted on.

There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people and staff, returned surveys and regular checks on care staff. There was a programme of other checks and audits which the provider used to monitor and improve the service.

The management team provided good leadership and people who used the service found them approachable and responsive. Staff said they received excellent support from the management team. People were able to share their views and opinions about the service they received.

The management team were committed to providing a high quality service to people. Feedback from people, and their representatives were continually sought and used as an opportunity for