This inspection took place on 13 and 14 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

The Homecare People - Wokingham is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults, people living with dementia, physical and learning disabilities and sensory impairments. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 17 people.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People felt safe while supported by the staff team who made them feel reassured. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these appropriately.

People were treated with respect, and their privacy and dignity were promoted. People felt the staff supported them in the way they wanted. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people and enabled them to improve and maintain their independence with personal care.

People and relatives were very complimentary of the staff and the support and care they provided. People received support that was individualised to their specific needs which was kept under review and amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and respected. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights were promoted.

The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People felt confident they would be looked after well. The service assessed risks to people's personal safety, as well as staff and visitors, and plans were in place to minimise those risks. There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required.

Where possible, the registered manager scheduled visits so the same staff went to see people to maintain continuity of care and support. People were informed about the changes to their visits as necessary.

The service had an appropriate recruitment procedure that they followed before new staff were employed to work with people. This included ensuring staff were of good character and suitable for their role. Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory. The staff were up-to-date with their training. The registered manager and senior staff had planned and booked training when necessary to ensure all staff had the appropriate knowledge to support people. Staff had ongoing support supervision and appraisals. They felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff, and maintained good team work.

Staff felt the registered manager was approachable. They had good communica

This inspection took place on 14, 15 and 16 June 2016 and was announced. We gave the manager prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

The Homecare People Ltd - Wokingham is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to mostly older people who live in the community. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service and receiving personal care.

The service did not have a registered manager. 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. The provider was in the process of recruiting a new manager who would apply to become the registered manager.

Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory by the provider. Not all staff were up to date with their mandatory training but the deputy manager was in the process of booking the training for them. Staff did not always receive regular supervisions. However, they felt supported to do their job most of the time and could ask for help when needed.

Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered and the running of the service. The service always looked at improvements to ensure people received the best support. Staff felt they worked well together which benefitted people. Staff felt management worked with them as a team most of the time though the communication and openness could be improved at times. This was recognised by the provider and action was being taken to address this.

Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these to keep people safe.

There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required. People's health and wellbeing was monitored and appropriate action was taken when required.

People were supported by sufficient staff to meet their individual needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed before new staff were employed to work with people. Checks were made to ensure staff were of good character and suitable for their role.

People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was promoted. People said their care and support workers were good and supported them in the way they wanted them to. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people they supported and enabled them to improve and maintain their independence with personal care. Risks to people’s personal safety were assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks.

People received support that was individualised to their specific needs. Their needs were monitored and support plans were kept under review and amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights to make their own decisions were promoted.