This inspection took place on 29 June 2018 and was announced.

At our last inspection of the service in November 2017 we found the service to be meeting the requirements of the regulations. We were unable to provide a rating at our last inspection, or the inspection prior to this carried out in September 2016. This was because we determined that the service was not fully operational due to supporting few people and intending to expand in size.

At this inspection the service was still providing a limited service. However, as this had been the case since our inspection in September 2016 we considered the service to be fully operational. We considered that we had sufficient evidence to make a ratings judgement for whether the service was effective, caring, responsive and well-led and to provide an overall rating. However, we judged we did not have sufficient evidence to provide a rating for the safe key question.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing home care support to four people. However, only one person using African Caribbean Care Group received a regulated activity. This person received three hours of support per week.

CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’ in a place that they are living. Personal care includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive this support, we also take into account any wider social care provided. The provider also ran other services including a day service for older adults, a meals service and a transport service. CQC do not regulate these services, and this inspection only considered evidence relevant to the provision of the domiciliary care service. We have also referred to this as the ‘regulated service’ within the inspection report.

There was 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.

One staff member provided support to the people receiving a home care service. When they were absent, as was the case at the time of our inspection, the service manager told us day service staff could provide cover, or arrangements would be made with people’s families to cover the absence themselves. The relative we spoke with was happy with this arrangement. They told us staff attended calls on time and always stayed for the agreed duration of the call or longer.

The provider ran an advocacy service that was accessible to people using the home care service as well as people from the wider community. This service was able to provide advice and guidance in relation to a range of areas. The relative we spoke with told us staff were good at providing them with information and advice whenever they needed it.

The service supported people primarily, but not exclusively from the African Caribbean community. Staff were clear about the service’s values and purpose, which were to provide culturally appropriate support and help prevent social isolation.

Staff assessed risks to people’s health and wellbeing, and plans were in place to help minimise the likelihood of people being harmed. There was scope to increase the level of detail recorded in risk assessments.

The provider had systems in place to help ensure any accidents, incidents or safeguarding concerns were identified and reported. However, there had not been any such incidents since our last inspection so we were not able to determine how effective this system was.

The staff member working for the home care service had received a range of training relevant t

This announced inspection took place on 30 November 2017. African Caribbean Care Group provides personal care for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the provider was delivering seven hours of personal care to one person each week. This meant the service was still not fully operational and we were unable to rate the service against the characteristics.

At our previous inspection on 13 September 2016 we were unable to rate the service against the characteristics of inadequate, requires improvement, good and outstanding. This was because the service was not fully operational and we did not have enough information about the experiences of a sufficient number of people using the service to accurately award a rating for each of the five key questions and therefore could not provide an overall rating for the service.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

Staff had sufficient knowledge and skills to meet people's needs effectively. They completed an induction programme when they started work and they were up to date with the provider's mandatory training. They were well supported by the management team and they enjoyed working for the agency.

The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were being followed to ensure that people's human rights were being upheld and that they were consenting to their care at the service.

People's needs had been assessed to determine their support needs. Where needs had been identified a care plan had been developed to guide the care worker about the support the person required.

There had been no complaints made about the service. The person we spoke with confirmed they knew how to complain and they said they were happy with their care.

Due to the limited number of people using the service the quality assurance process was not fully operational. The registered manager told us they were in regular communication with people and family members to check they were happy with the care.

This announced inspection took place on 13 September 2016. This was the provider's first inspection since their registration on 28 August 2013. African Caribbean Care Group provides personal care for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the provider was delivering 11.5 hours of personal care to three people each week. On this occasion we were unable to rate the service against the characteristics of inadequate, requires improvement, good and outstanding. This was because as the service was not fully operational we did not have enough information about the experiences of a sufficient number of people using the service to accurately award a rating for each of the five key questions and therefore could not provide an overall rating for the service.

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.

The person we spoke with was happy with their care. They said, “I am well looked after. Everything is alright. [Care worker] is quite alright with me. [Care worker] treats me good.”

One person said they felt safe. They told us, “[Care worker] makes sure [my home] is locked up.” They also said the care worker was reliable. They said, “[Care worker] is on time. She comes at the right time.”

The care worker we spoke with demonstrated a good knowledge of safeguarding policy and was aware of the provider’s whistle blowing procedure. They said they did not have any concerns about people’s care. The safeguarding policy needed updating. There had been no safeguarding concerns received for people using the service.

We found accurate Medicines Administration Records (MARs) had been kept to confirm the support with medicines one person received from the care worker.

A risk assessment was completed for each person to help keep them safe. These identified the measures needed to reduce identified risks.

Effective recruitment checks were carried out to check the care worker was suitable for their caring role. For example, requesting and receiving references and checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The care worker confirmed they were well supported. They said, “[Registered manager] is very supportive, we have one to one every two weeks, we sit and chat.” The care worker’s training records confirmed their training was up to date.

The care worker told us people made their own decisions about the care they received. They told us, “They [people] will let you know [what they want].”

Some people received support to ensure they had enough to eat in line with their care plan.

People’s needs had been assessed to determine their support needs. Where needs had been identified a care plan had been developed to guide the care worker about the support the person required.

There had been no complaints made about the service. The person we spoke with confirmed they knew how to complain and they said they were happy with their care.

Due to the limited number of people using the service the quality assurance process was not fully operational. The registered manager told us they were in regular communication with people and family members to check they were happy with the care.

The care worker told us the registered manager was approachable.