This inspection was carried out on 25 and 27 May 2016. The inspection was announced. The service is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support to older people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were ten people using the service all of whom were privately funded.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were satisfied with the standard of care and support they received. The staff were kind and caring, and always respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff had developed caring and friendly relationships with people.
The registered manager and staff knew what constituted abuse and who to report it to if they suspected people were at risk. They had all received training in safeguarding adults. People were protected from avoidable harm because staff had access to appropriate guidance to ensure identified risks to people were effectively managed.
People were supported to stay healthy. If staff had any concerns about a person’s health, appropriate professional advice and support was sought. People were supported to eat healthily, where the agency was responsible for this. Staff also took account of people’s food and drink preferences when they prepared meals. People received their medicines as prescribed.
The registered manager and staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported. This included their preferences, routines and their support needs. Staff provided people with the support they required in line with their care plans. Staff regularly discussed people’s needs to identify if the level of support they required had changed, and care plans were updated accordingly.
People were involved in decisions about their care. Where appropriate, staff liaised with people’s relatives and involved them in discussions about people’s care needs. Staff were also aware of who had the capacity to make decisions and supported people in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff supported people to be as independent as they could and wanted to be.
The provider operated safe recruitment practices which were consistently applied. There were enough suitably competent staff to care for and support people safely. People were matched with staff with the right mix of knowledge, skills and experience to meet their needs and preferences.
Staff received the training they required to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to undertake their role. Systems were in place to ensure staff remained up to date with the training considered mandatory for their role. Staff were supported by the registered manager who ensured staff had regular opportunities to discuss their work and professional development during individual supervision sessions and annual performance review.
People were encouraged to give feedback on the care they received. Staff felt able to express their views and opinions, and these were used when looking at service improvements. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they were well supported by the registered manager.
There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.