About the service: The Care Company is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people who live in their own homes. The service specialises in supporting older people living with age related conditions. Not everyone who used the agency was receiving support with their personal care. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 25 people.

People’s experience of using this service:

Improvements had been made to the systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service people received.

People received a consistently good service that was safe and effective. Staff were kind and caring, knew people well and had a good understanding of their personalities as well as their health and social care needs.

People, their relatives and care managers had been fully involved in the assessment and planning of their care before they started using the service. A care plan had been developed with each person detailing their likes, dislikes, preferences and care needs.

Consent had been sought before any care had been delivered in line with legal requirements and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives.

Staff treated people and their relatives with kindness, dignity and respect. People’s privacy was protected and confidential information was stored securely. People were supported and encouraged to remain independent and do as much as possible for themselves.

Steps had been taken to make sure people were safe. Risks to people had been assessed and minimised in the least restrictive way. Staff had access to protective clothing such as gloves and aprons and had completed training in infection control.

Most people had their own team of safely recruited and trained staff who had a good understanding of their needs. Staff felt supported by management and office staff and had completed the training they needed to meet people’s assessed needs. Management and staff worked in collaboration with other stakeholders such as health and social care professionals and people’s relatives.

A complaints procedure was in place for people to follow.

The service met characteristics of Good in all areas more information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 1 June 2016).

Why we inspected: We inspected the service as part of our inspection schedule methodology for ‘Good’ rated services.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This inspection took place on 4 May 2016. This was the provider's first inspection of this service since its registration in November 2014.

The service provided people with personal care and support in their own homes. There were 50 people using the service at the time of this inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 provider had some systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, however improvements were required to ensure that all areas of care delivery were audited to identify any areas of weakness and put a continuous improvement plan in place.

People felt safe and were protected from risks of harm associated with their care. Staff and managers knew what to do if they suspected someone may have been abused.

People's medication was administered safely by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff who had been employed using safe recruitment procedures.

The provider followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) and ensured that people consented to or were supported to consent to their care and support.

People received care from staff who were supported and trained to fulfil their role effectively.

People were supported to choose what they wished to eat and drink and if they became unwell staff responded and gained the appropriate healthcare support.

People were treated with dignity and their privacy was respected. People were encouraged to be as independent as they were able to be.

Care being delivered met people's personal preferences and was regularly reviewed to ensure it met people's needs.

There was a complaints procedure and people knew how to use it. The provider took the appropriate action when complaints were raised.