SureCare Coventry & South Warwickshire is a domiciliary care agency which is registered to provide personal care support to children, young people and older people in their own homes. At the time of our visit the agency supported 11 people with their personal care and employed 10 care workers.

This was the first inspection of SureCare Coventry & South Warwickshire since registering with the Care Quality Commission in November 2016.

The service had a registered manager. A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have 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 is also the provider for this service and is referred to as the provider throughout this report.

Relatives were confident people felt safe with their care workers and care workers understood how to protect people from abuse. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and care workers understood how these should be managed to ensure they kept people and themselves safe.

Care workers had been recruited safely and received a comprehensive induction when they began working at the service to prepare them for their role. There were enough suitably qualified care workers to provide all planned care calls to meet people’s individual needs. The on-going training care workers received equipped them with the skills and knowledge needed to support people effectively.

People received their care calls from care workers they knew and with whom they shared a common interest. Care calls were consistently made at, and for the length of the time agreed. Care workers practices were regularly checked to make sure they worked in line with the provider’s policies and procedures.

The provider understood their responsibility to comply with the relevant requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to make decisions about their care and support. Care workers gained people’s consent before they provided personal care and respected people’s decisions and choices.

People were supported with dignity and respect and, where possible, their independence was encouraged. Relatives felt care workers were respectful and caring. Care workers supported people to maintain their health and wellbeing and to see healthcare and social care professionals when needed. Systems were in place to manage people’s medicines safely and care workers had received training to do this.

Relatives were involved in planning and reviewing their family members care and support. Care workers understood people's needs and abilities because they read care plans and shadowed experienced staff when they started working for the service. Care records reflected people’s current needs and gave care workers the information needed to ensure care and support was provided in a way which respected people’s differences and preferences.

Relatives and care workers felt the provider was approachable. Care workers felt supported and valued by the provider who was ‘always’ available to provide guidance and advice. Relatives knew how to raise any concerns or complaints and were confident any issues raised would be listened and responded to effectively.

The provider and care workers shared common values about the aims and objectives of the service. The provider had established effective procedures to check and monitor the quality and safety of the service people received and regularly sought feedback from people and their relatives. Relatives were very satisfied with the service provided and the way the service was managed.