The People Care Team is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and live in care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service provided approximately 27 packages of personal care and support.

The inspection was announced and took place on 2, 3 and 4 November 2016.

The service had 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe and were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and there were suitable systems in place for recording, reporting and investigating incidents. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and staff used these to assist people to remain as independent as possible. Staff numbers were based upon the amount of care that people required, in conjunction with their assessed dependency levels. Staff had been recruited using effective recruitment processes so that people were kept safe and free from harm. Medicines were administered, handled and recorded safely.

Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of individual people they cared for. They supported people to make choices about their care and daily lives. Staff attended a variety of training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. They were further supported with supervision by senior staff. There were policies and procedures in place in relation to the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff knew how to use them to protect people who were unable to make decisions for themselves. People could make choices about their food and drink. They were provided with support when required to prepare meals if this was an assessed part of their package of care. Prompt action was taken in response to illness or changes in people’s physical and mental health. They were supported to access health care professionals when required.

People told us that staff treated them in a friendly and caring manner, with kindness and compassion, and cared for them according to their individual needs. Staff had a good understanding of people’s individual needs and worked hard to ensure they had choices based upon their personal preferences. People and their relatives were fully involved in making decisions and planning individual care. Staff were caring and ensured that people’s privacy and dignity was respected at all times.

People's needs were assessed prior to them being provided with care and support. Care plans were updated on a regular basis, or as and when people's care needs changed. People were supported to achieve goals that required planning and support from staff that knew them well. This meant that positive outcomes were achieved for people including feeling empowered, being able to support others, and being part of a wider community. People had been made aware of the complaints process and knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. The registered manager and senior staff reviewed the quality of care people received and encouraged feedback from people and their representatives, to identify, plan and make improvements to the service.

The service was well led by a passionate and dedicated registered manager, who was well supported by a proactive and self motivated staff team. The culture found within the service was one of positivism; the ethos demonstrated by the registered manager and staff was transparent and aimed at encouraging people to be as independent as possible. The registered manager and director were both committed to their work, providing strong leadership and leading by example, using challenges to drive future improvement and to ensure that people received person centred care. Staff were proud to work for the service a