GES Care is a domiciliary care agency and provides care and support to people in their own homes, some of whom may be living with dementia, a disability or mobility problem. At the time of our inspection the agency had 21 clients of which 18 were receiving personal care.

This was an announced inspection that took place on 6 January 2017. We told the provider two days before our visit that we were coming to make sure that someone would be available to support the inspection and give us access to the agency’s records.

The agency had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, registered managers 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. The registered manager as well as the provider assisted us during our inspection.

People felt safe when staff provided their care. They told us they could rely on staff and the agency contacted them to let them know if staff were running late. The provider had identified those people most at risk if their care was interrupted and had developed plans to prioritise the delivery of their care in the event of an emergency.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities if they suspected abuse was taking place. Risk assessments had been carried out to identify any risks to people and an environment risk was undertaken to help ensure staff were kept safe. Where an incident or accident had occurred, there was a record of how the event had occurred and what action had been taken. The provider had processes in place to help ensure they only employed suitable staff to work for the agency.

Staff had access to the training and support they needed. Staff attended an induction when they joined the agency and shadowed colleagues until the provider was confident in their ability to provide people’s care safely and effectively.

Staff responded appropriately if people became unwell. We read that the agency liaised with health care professionals in order to provide the most relevant care to people. Those people who required support to take their medicines received this and medicines records were completed appropriately by staff. People who received support with meal preparation were happy with this aspect of their care. We noted people’s food preferences were recorded in people’s care plans.

People told us they received their care from regular staff who knew their needs well. They said they were supported by kind and caring staff. People told us staff were polite, friendly and treated them with respect. Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and told us they would always ask for people’s consent before carrying out care.

People received a service that was responsive to their individual needs. The registered manager reviewed care plans on a continual basis to help ensure they reflected people’s needs and preferences. The results of a recent survey showed that people and their relatives felt involved in their care plan.

People and relatives felt the agency was well managed and staff told us they felt supported by management. People told us they could always contact the office if they needed to and said they liked the registered manager. They also told us they knew if they ever needed to complain this would be acted upon. People were asked for their views about their care and their opinions were listened and responded to.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and the care provided by staff. The registered manager regularly reviewed medicines records as well as they daily notes written by staff and the quality of care provided by staff was monitored through spot checks. Where issues or shortfalls were identified, these were raised with the staff team.

During our inspection we made one recommendat