The Caring Circle is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service supported 56 people with personal care and employed 24 care staff. The service is located in Solihull in the West Midlands and provides long and short term care packages.

This was the first inspection of the service following their registration with us in January 2017.

The office visit took place on 26 April 2018 and was announced. We told the provider before the visit we were coming so they could arrange to be there and arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have a registered manager. There was a registered manager in post 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.

There were enough staff to provide the care and support people required. Most people we spoke with received care from staff they knew and who arrived around the time expected. However, some people had experienced late calls and received care from inconsistent care staff. The local authority contract monitoring team had received similar concerns about late call times and had asked the provider to improve this. In response the registered manager had revised people’s call schedules and implemented ‘care champions’, care staff who had responsibility to monitor certain care packages. The registered manager confirmed this had improved people’s experiences in regard to continuity of staff as well as their overall satisfaction of using the service.

People felt safe using the service and received care which protected them from avoidable harm and abuse. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood how to keep people safe from abuse. Risks to people’s safety were identified and measures were in place to help reduce these risks. People who required assistance to take their medicines were supported by staff who were trained to do this safely. The suitability of staff was checked during recruitment procedures to make sure they were safe to work with people who used the service.

People told us they received care from staff that were friendly and caring, and who treated them with dignity and respect. All the people we spoke with said care staff stayed long enough to provide the care they required. Staff we spoke with knew the people they visited well, and spoke about people in a caring and considerate manner. When needed, arrangements were in place to support people to have enough to eat and drink and remain in good health.

People's right to make their own decisions about their care were supported by managers and staff who understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. Staff asked people's permission before they assisted them with any care and respected decisions people made about their care and support.

People had an assessment completed at the start of their service to make sure staff could meet their care and support needs. Staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training that provided them with the skills and knowledge to support people’s needs.

People were provided with care and support which was individual to them. Care plans provided information for staff about people’s individual care needs and plans were regularly reviewed and updated when needs changed.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and had regular supervision and observations of their practice to make sure they carried these out safely. Staff were very happy in their work and said they received excellent support from the management team if they needed support or adv