This inspection took place on 7 December 2017 and was announced. We gave the registered manager notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because Stourport Nursing and Homecare provide personal care for people who live in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.

At our last inspection on 20 October 2015 we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Stourport Nursing and Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. They provide personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. They provide a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, and people who have dementia. At the time of our inspection 33 people received personal care in their own homes.

Not everyone using Stourport Nursing and Homecare receives the regulated activity, personal care. CQC only inspects the service which provides ‘personal care’ to people, such as, help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in place 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 told us they felt safe with the care they received from the staff who supported them. Staff demonstrated good knowledge in how they were to protect people from harm, they recognised the signs of abuse and knew how to report this. The registered manager had identified potential risks to people and had put plans in place to support staff. This was to reduce the risk to people without taking away people’s right to make decisions about their care. There were enough staff to support people’s care needs. People were supported with their medicines in a safe way. Staff understood the importance of reducing the risk of infection to keep people safe.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. We found people required support to prepare meals staff supported them with this. Staff worked with external healthcare professionals and followed their guidance and advice about how to support the person.

People’s views and decisions they had made about their care respected by staff who supported them. People and relatives felt the staff team were kind and friendly and treated them with respect.

People received personalised care which met their needs in a timely way. People had access to information about how they could complain about the service. Where the registered manager had received complaints, these had been responded to, with a satisfactory outcome for the person who had raised the complaint.

People told us they had the opportunity to raise their suggestions and ideas about how the service was run. People felt they could ring the registered manager when they wanted to and they would listen to them. Staff said they felt supported by the registered manager to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively, through training and daily contact. Staff felt involved in the service and said they felt able to share their ideas in the way in which the service was run. People, relatives and staff felt the registered manager was approachable and listened to them. We found checks the registered manager completed on the service focused upon the experiences of people.

We inspected the agency office and spoke on the telephone with eight people who used the agency and their relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff who provided care to people.

People were complimentary about the care and support that they received. One person told us: “The most important thing is that they put you at ease. They’ll do anything I ask. They’re very good.” Another person said: “It’s a different face, a different person to chat to. They always ask how you’ve been. If I need anything I just ask them. Nothing’s too much trouble for them.” This meant that people felt the agency was meeting their individual needs.

Staff had been recruited in an appropriate way and checks had been undertaken to ensure that they were suitable to care for vulnerable people.

People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

The provider had systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

There was a system in place for people to make complaints if they were not happy with any aspect of the service.

We inspected the agency office and spoke on the telephone with three people who used the agency and their relatives. We also spoke with three members of staff who provided care to people. We found that people were able to express their views and had been involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

People were complimentary about the care and support that they received. One person told us, “They’re extremely good. They’ve got a friendly atmosphere.” Another person said, “Nothing is too much trouble or bother. They’ll try and juggle things around to meet my needs.” This meant that people felt the agency was meeting their individual needs.

We found that people who used the agency were protected from the risk of abuse.

People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

The provider had systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

This inspection took place on 15 and 20 October 2015 and was announced. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because Stourport Nursing and Homecare provides personal care for people who live in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.

At the time of our inspection 43 people used the service.

There was a registered manager in place, however at the time of our inspection they were on planned leave. 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 lived in a safe environment as staff knew how to protect people from harm. We found that staff recognised signs of abuse and knew how to report this. Staff made sure risk assessments were in place and took actions to minimise risks without taking away people’s right to make decisions.

People told us there were enough staff to help them when they needed them. Staff told us there were enough staff to provide safe care and support to people. Advanced planning meant that staffing levels were reviewed and reflected the needs of people who used the service. People’s medicines were checked and managed in a safe way.

People received care and support that met their needs and preferences. Care and support was provided to people with their consent and agreement. Staff understood and recognised the importance of this. We found people were supported to eat a healthy balanced diet and were supported with enough fluids to keep them healthy. We found that staff supported people with access to healthcare professionals, such as their doctor or hospital appointments.

We saw that people were involved in the planning around their care. People’s views and decisions they had made about their care were listened and acted upon. People told us that staff treated them kindly, with dignity and their privacy was respected.

We found that people knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable to do this should they feel they needed to. Where the provider had received complaints, these had been responded to. Learning had been taken from complaints received and actions were put into place to address these.

The provider demonstrated clear leadership. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and the provider to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.

We found that the checks the registered manager completed focused upon the experiences people received. Where areas for improvement were identified, systems were in place to ensure that lessons were learnt and used to improve staff practice.