The inspection took place on 8 September 2016 and was announced.

Abbeyfield Ferring Society is domiciliary care service that provides support to people in Ferring and the immediate local area. At the time of our visit the service was supporting 20 people with personal care. The registered manager told us that they offered a community service and that whilst they hoped to grow, they would remain focused on the local area.

The service 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, 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 spoke positively about the service and told us that they enjoyed the company of the staff who supported them. When we visited people in their homes, we observed that they enjoyed warm and friendly relationships with staff. People appreciated the continuity in the staff who visited them and staff understood how people wished to be supported. Staff supported people to be as independent as they were able and were mindful of their privacy. People told us that staff treated them respectfully.

People received a safe service. Staff understood local safeguarding procedures. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and reviewed. People received their medicines safely and at the right time.

There were enough staff employed to cover the calls currently booked with the service but there was limited scope for people to increase their care hours. The registered manager explained that they were in the process of introducing new systems to manage the growth of the service. This included an electronic records system to plan staff rotas and manage invoicing. At the time of our inspection the service was taking time to stabilise and was not accepting any new clients or taking on new staff.

Staff understood how consent should be considered in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff supported people to prepare meals and to eat and drink if required. Where people could benefit from additional support, referrals were made to other healthcare professionals such as the GP, district nurses or falls prevention team.

People had confidence in the staff who supported them. Staff received training to enable them to deliver effective care. They were supported in their roles by a system of supervision and appraisal. A training manager had been recruited to the service. The staff training offer was being developed and enhanced to offer staff further opportunities for professional development.

People were involved in planning their care and determining how they wished to receive support. People’s care was reviewed and any changes communicated quickly and effectively to staff.

People felt able to contact the registered manager if they had concerns and said that they received a quick response. People knew how to make a complaint and were assured of a full and prompt response.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the service and used feedback from people and staff to identify improvements and act on them. Senior staff carried out spot checks on care workers to monitor the delivery of care. Although the registered manager had responded appropriately to any incidents that had occurred, we discussed how the consistency of incident reporting could be improved to allow for effective audit. The registered manager took prompt action following our visit to address this.