About the service: T.L.C Home Care Services is a Domiciliary Care Agency that was providing personal care to 58 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service: People received their medicines when needed but records were not always fully completed and the provider was taking action to address this. Staff safeguarded people from abuse. Risks to people were assessed and action taken to address them. The provider ensured suitable staff were employed by undertaking appropriate checks. There were sufficient staff to ensure no calls were missed and further work was being done to ensure staff had sufficient travel time between calls.

Staff had access to regular training and felt they had a good level of support from the management team. People received appropriate support with food and nutrition. Staff ensured people were able to access a range of healthcare appointments. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People spoke positively about the support they received from staff. People were treated with dignity and respect and were encouraged to maintain their independence as much as possible.

People received person-centred support based on their assessed needs and preferences. People were involved in decisions about their care and in writing and reviewing their care plans. Clear complaints procedures were in place and any concerns were investigated in line with this.

Staff spoke positively about the management and leadership team. Systems were in place to ensure the voices of people, relatives and staff were heard. The provider worked flexibly and in co-operation with other stakeholders such as the local authority and other professionals to promote people’s health and wellbeing.

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

Rating at last inspection: The rating at the last inspection was good (published 3 February 2016).

Why we inspected: This inspection was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

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

This inspection was announced and took place on 18 December 2015. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to carry out an inspection. This was because the service provides domiciliary care to people in their own home or that of a family member and we needed to make sure someone would be available at the office.

T.L.C Home Care Services is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care and support to people with a range of varied needs including people who live with dementia. At the time of our inspection 55 people received support with personal care.

There was a registered manager in place who is also the registered provider. 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.

People who used the service and their family members told us they felt safe receiving care and support and had no concerns about the care provided. Staff employed by the provider had knowledge of different types of abuse and were aware of the action they would need to take if people were at risk. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect by staff who visited them and that sufficient staff were available.

People had individual care plans and risk assessments in place which were regularly reviewed and updated to reflect people’s changing care and support needs. Medicines were administered by staff who had received training and the records maintained were regularly audited. People were supported as needed with eating and drinking.

Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people. Staff were aware of the need to consult people before care was provided. People were happy with the way in which staff supported them with their care and were able to make choices and decisions.

Staff told us the registered manager was accessible and approachable and they assured us regular checks were completed to monitor the quality of care provided for people. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and felt listened to and able to raise any issues.

People felt they were able to make comments about the service provided and any complaints would be listened to and action taken.

This agency provided care for adults in their own homes. During this inspection we spoke on the telephone with nine people who used the agency and four relatives. We spoke with the provider and three care staff at the agency office.

People and relatives we spoke with were complimentary about the care and support that they or their family member received. One person said: “The care is all good, nice people, I would recommend them. I can’t fault T.L.C”. People told us that they felt involved in any decisions that needed to be made about their care and these were made in their best interests.

We found that proper steps had been taken to ensure that individualised care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare.

Staff had been recruited in an appropriate way and checks had been undertaken that ensured they were suitable to care for vulnerable people.

The provider had systems of audit in place to enable them to monitor the quality of the service provided to ensure that people received appropriate care and treatment.

We found that any comments and complaints people made were responded to appropriately.

We visited the agency office and spoke on the telephone with people who used the agency and their advocates. We found that people were able to express their views and had been involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

We found that care and treatment had been planned and delivered in a way that met with the essential standards. We talked with a few people about their experience of the care and service they received from the agency. Overall, they were complimentary about the care and support they had received from the agency. People told us the agency was “definitely very good”. “I just could not manage without them. They enable X (person’s name) to stay at home”.

We found that people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

We found that people who used the agency were protected from the risk of abuse. People told us that they felt safe whilst receiving care from the agency and they were aware of how to complain.

People and their advocates told us that overall they received a good standard of care from the staff who worked for the agency. They told us “Some of the carers are excellent. All the rest are very good”. “They are very efficient, polite, timing is usually very good. Sometimes they have a ‘blip’ if someone is taken ill, they always keep you informed. I can’t fault them”.

We found that staff received appropriate induction and training. We found that staff received regular supervision and were encouraged and supported to undertake further training to increase their skills and knowledge.

People who used the agency were asked for their views about the care and treatment provided. People we spoke with had been asked to contribute to the annual satisfaction survey. All of the people we spoke with knew how to raise concerns. Overall, we found that the provider had an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.