We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 6 January 2016.

Access 2 Care Nottingham Ltd provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing the regulatory activity of personal care to 38 people.

The service is required to have a registered manager 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. At the time of our inspection the service had a registered manager.

People told us they felt the care workers provided safe and effective care. Care workers had a good understanding of the various types of abuse and their roles and responsibilities in reporting any safeguarding concerns. Additionally, they had received safeguarding adults training and had available to them a safeguarding policy and procedure.

People’s individual needs were assessed and care plans and risk plans developed to inform staff how to meet people’s needs. Information was reviewed for changes and communicated to care workers.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and to report on what we find. This is legislation that protects people who are unable to make specific decisions about their care and treatment. It ensures best interest decisions are made correctly and a person’s liberty and freedom is not unlawfully restricted. Care workers understood the principles of MCA. At the time of our inspection people who used the service had mental capacity to consent to their care and support. The provider had a MCA policy but a procedure was required to inform staff of the correct action to take if a person lacked capacity to consent.

People spoke highly of the care workers and complemented them on their approach. They referred to them as kind and caring and said that their privacy and dignity was maintained.

The provider ensured there were sufficient care workers employed and deployed appropriately. There was a system in place that monitored visits by care workers that identified late or missed calls. On the whole people received visits from regular care workers. No concerns about visit times being met or the duration of visits were raised. Safe recruitment checks were in place that ensured people were cared for by suitable care workers.

People who used the service that we spoke with said they found care workers to be competent and knowledgeable. People were supported appropriately with their food and drinks. Support was provided with people’s healthcare needs and action was taken when changes occurred.

Care workers were appropriately supported, which consisted of formal and informal meetings to discuss and review their learning and development needs. Care workers additionally received an induction and ongoing training. Care workers were positive about the leadership of the service and were clear about the vision and values of the service.

The provider had checks in place that monitored the quality and safety of the service. The provider had notified us of important events, which registered providers are required to do.