SureCare Bolton is a domiciliary care agency which provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the community. It is a franchise of the nationwide care provider SureCare. SureCare Bolton offers a variety of services, including assistance with personal care, support with medicines and domestic tasks. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 94 people receiving support from a team of 45 full and part-time care assistants.

We carried out this inspection on 21 and 22 May 2018. The inspection was announced to ensure that the registered manager or other responsible person was available to assist with our inspection. This was the first Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of this service.

The service had a registered manager who was present during the inspection. They had registered with the CQC in June 2017. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

At this inspection we identified some concerns around the safe management of medicines. We have made a recommendation about this.

People who used the service and relatives were complimentary about the care and support provided by SureCare Bolton. They commented that staff were caring, considerate and respectful.

Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff had been trained to carry out their roles and were regularly supervised.

There were sufficient staff to provide care to the people being supported by the service. Work rotas were arranged so that people were generally supported by a regular carer or carers, who were familiar with their needs. Staff used the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as disposable aprons and gloves when carrying out personal care tasks. This protected people from the risk of cross infection.

Risk assessments, both environmental and personal had been completed to minimise risks to staff and people who used the service. Care documentation was detailed and person-centred.

The registered manager showed good leadership skills and staff told us they worked well together as a team. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, such as audits, feedback from care reviews and an annual survey.