This inspection took place on 15 June 2017. It was an announced visit to the service.

SSA Quality Care is registered to provide support to people in their own home. At the time of the inspection the care agency provided care and support to twenty seven people who primarily lived in Buckinghamshire. The main office is based in Aylesbury.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We received positive feedback from people, their relatives and external social care professionals.

People told us they had developed a good working relationship with the care workers and office staff. Comments included “We have a good chat, I have a very good relationship, they are very professional,” “I only have to mention something and they do it straight away” and “They (Staff) respect my home and they are all very friendly.”

People were supported by staff with right skills and experience, as robust recruitment processes were in place.

People were supported by staff who understood their role and were trained to provide safe care.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm, as staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and what to do in the event of concern being raised.

People received a person centred service, as they had been involved in developing care plans which reflected their likes and preferences.

Staff understood the core principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and processes were in place to ensure where people lacked mental capacity the service made decision in the person’s best interest.

People told us they had confidence in the management and they would go to them if they had any concerns.

Staff told us they felt supported by management and felt involved in driving improvements. There was a positive culture within the organisation.

SSA quality Care has a registered manager in place. 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 inspection was announced before we visited people who used the service on the 17 February 2015. This was to ensure there was someone available and to gain people’s consent to visit them in their own homes. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector on the 17 and 18 February 2015.

SSA quality Care provides a domiciliary care service to enable people to maintain their independence in their own homes.

People and their relatives we spoke with told us staff were usually on time and they did usually get a call if the care staff were running late although there had been occasions in the past where they had to call the office to ask when staff were coming. One relative told us the office had not been not good at communicating in the past but this had improved over the last three or four months.

Risks to people using the service had been identified and were incorporated into their care plans to enable staff to manage any such risks appropriately and keep people safe.

Staff were knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and how it related to people they provided care and support to. The MCA sets out what must be done to ensure the human rights of people, who may lack capacity to make decisions, are protected. People’s rights were protected because staff were trained in how to protect people’s human rights.

Selection and recruitment processes were in place to protect people from being cared for by unsuitable people. Staff were provided with an induction and further on going training to support them to care for people safely.

Staff received regular support through staff meetings, one to one supervisions and an annual appraisal of their work. This enabled staff to raise any areas of concern and discuss any personal development needs.

The provider had systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service people received. People's views were sought both on an informal and formal basis. This was through staff talking to people on a day to day basis and during their reviews of care. Annual questionnaires were provided for people who used the service and their family/representatives. These enabled the provider to gain feedback on the quality of service they provided and allowed them to determine where any changes could be made to improve outcomes for those who used the service.