We inspected Absolute Care Services on 5 February 2018. This was an announced inspection. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the registered manager was often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they, or a delegated representative, would be in.

Absolute Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It was providing a service ranging from personal care to domestic help to 121 people over the age of 18 at the time of this inspection. Not everyone using Absolute Care Services receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the previous inspection in December 2015 we found the service was meeting the required standards. At this inspection the service continued to meet the standards.

A registered manager was in post. 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 and their relatives told us that they found staff to be kind, respectful and caring. They told us that the service provided was of high quality and personalised to people’s individual needs. The service asked people about the care they wanted and involved them in making day to day decisions about the support being provided, helping them remain independent where appropriate.

People and their relatives told us that staff were punctual and communicated well with them. However, some people told us that there were times when staff were late or that they did not take enough care when tidying up after carrying out their role. The management team recorded this feedback and took action to follow particular concerns up. There were systems to safeguard people from abuse. Staff completed safeguarding training and knew how to report any concerns.

People were supported by staff who were trained and well supported in their various roles. Staff members had been safely recruited and had received an induction to the service.

Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for the prevention and control of infection.

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and understood the importance of gaining people’s consent before assisting them.

The service completed assessments of people’s needs and these were used to inform the care plan for each person. The service kept people’s needs under review and made changes as required.

People and their relatives felt able to raise any concerns or complaints. There was a procedure in place for people to follow if they wanted to raise any issues.

The service promoted a culture that was person centred, open and inclusive and had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and the experience of people who used it.