21 January 2016
During a routine inspection
The service provides domiciliary care services to people in their own homes. The people who receive these services have a wide range of needs, some of which are complex. The service provides minimum call times of one hour. At the time of the inspection there were 25 people receiving support from the service.
The service had 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.
We found people received good quality support. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and there were robust recruitment practices in place, which meant staff had been recruited safely. People felt safe and staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard people. Risks to people and staff had been assessed and were minimised where possible.
Staff told us they felt supported and we saw staff had received induction and training. The registered manager was familiar with best practice guidance and this helped people to receive support that was effective.
People and their relatives we spoke with told us staff were caring. The staff we spoke with were enthusiastic and were driven to provide good quality care. Staff told us how they respected people’s privacy and dignity and the people we spoke with confirmed this.
Care support plans were detailed and personalised, taking into account people’s choices and preferences. We found that, although the registered manager and staff made regular contact with people and their families, and feedback was sought and acted upon, formal reviews of people’s individual care were not regularly recorded.
All of the people, relatives and staff we asked told us they felt the service was well led. There was a culture of openness and transparency and the registered manager engaged well with people who used the service. Regular quality assurance checks and audits took place. The registered manager built relationships with other local businesses to try and improve services provided to people.