About the service: Sunshine Care (Yorkshire) Limited is a domiciliary care agency situated in the Queensbury area of Bradford. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. At the time of the inspection it was providing a service to 17 people who lived in the locality.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and relatives told us the service was caring and well-led.

They said they received safe and good quality care from a small and consistent team.

People told us the length and times of visits were reliable, effective and flexible.

Care was personalised to meet people's individual needs and preferences.

Medicines were managed safely and people’s health care needs supported. We have made a recommendation to the provider that they review the checking of medication competency of staff.

Staff were knowledgeable, experienced and committed to providing high quality, person centred support.

The registered manager provided people with effective leadership and was visible and approachable.

People’s views were welcomed on the running of the service.

Systems were in place to assess, monitor and improve the service. We have made a recommendation to the provider that systems to record audits were reviewed to provide more detail.

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 supported the practise.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of 'good' in all key questions.

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection on 10 and 16 August 2016 the service was rated good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection to confirm that the service remained Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

On the 10 August 2016 we inspected Sunshine Care (Yorkshire) Ltd and made phone calls to people who used the service and staff on the 19 August 2016. At the time of our inspection, there were 25 people using the service. This was an unannounced inspection which meant we did not give the provider notice of our visit.

Sunshine Care Yorkshire is an agency that provides personal care and support to people in their own home. The agency is small and currently employs 10 staff members to support people. The agency is run from the provider's house.

The service had 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was present throughout the inspection.

Staff had been provided with safeguarding training to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm.

There were risk management plans in place to protect and promote people’s safety.

Staffing numbers were appropriate to keep people safe. There were safe recruitment practices followed to ensure staff were suitable to work with people.

People’s medicines were managed safely, in line with best practice guidelines; and staff had been provided with training in the safe handling of medicines.

People were supported by staff who were aware of their care needs; and staff received the appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their roles and responsibilities.

People’s consent was sought in line with current legislation and guidance. The service worked in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People were able to express their views and to be involved in making decisions in relation to their care and support.

People were supported by staff to have a balanced diet. If needed, staff supported people to access healthcare services.

People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff. They had established positive and caring relationships with them.

Staff ensured they promoted people’s privacy and dignity. People received care that met their assessed needs. People’s care records were updated on a regular basis, or as and when their care needs changed.

People were aware of the service’s complaints procedure. This ensured that people would be aware of how to raise a complaint if the need arose. Complaints were investigated in-line with the provider’s policy.

The culture at the service was open and inclusive. The registered manager led by example, which inspired staff to deliver a quality service.

There were quality monitoring systems in place. These were used to good effect and to drive continuous improvements.

We visited the administrative office of the organisation where we reviewed documentation and spoke with the Registered Manager. Later we spoke with staff and people who used the service and their relatives over the telephone.

People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the service and they felt that their dignity was respected. There were no concerns regarding dignity or respect raised. One person we spoke with said “I like the carers that visit me” another said “They are all excellent and on time”. Staff we spoke with said people were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was respected at all times.

Staff told us the staffing levels were appropriate and staff were supported through their training. The two staff we spoke with were complimentary regarding the training they had been provided with. One member of staff told us that “I enjoy my job and the clients are all very nice” another said “It’s smashing to work for them”.

The staff members we spoke with explained what actions they would take if people wanted to make a complaint about the service. They said the Registered Manager would take complaints seriously and people would never be discriminated against for raising a complaint.

People who used the service said they were pleased with the care and support provided by the care workers. They said nothing was too much trouble for staff who were always polite and cheerful. They also said staff were kind and caring. The two relatives we spoke with said communication was "excellent". They said: "we are kept well informed of any change in our relative's condition."

People said they were asked about the help they needed when they started using the agency and they were provided with written information about the service.

Comments included:

"It is an excellent service."

"I am very happy with the care and I know my relative is."

"I know who to contact if I have a problem."