The inspection took place on 31 July 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice as they are a small domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure people would be available to speak with us. The service was last inspected in July 2016. Appa me is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes.

At the last inspection in July 2016 we were unable to provide a rating as they were only providing a service to one person. They have continued to provide a service to this person which means we have been able to rate them on this inspection. The provider will need to ensure they maintain standards if they grow to support more people.

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 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe with staff. The service had robust systems in place to ensure people were protected from avoidable harm and abuse. Risks to people had been identified and there were plans in place to mitigate risks. There were enough staff in post to provide care and people were involved in recruiting staff which ensured they were a good match to people's individual needs. People did not receive support with their medicines, but there were systems in place to ensure the safe management of medicines should this be required.

People told us they were confident that staff had the knowledge and skills required to deliver support. Staff received training in areas relevant to their role and had regular support and supervision from their manager. People consented to their care and records showed the service emphasised the importance of people making their own choices. People were supported with meal preparation in line with their preferences. People told us staff were knowledgeable about their health needs and provided them with support to access healthcare services when required.

People told us they had developed strong relationships with their staff who they described as trustworthy. Staff spoke about people with kindness and compassion. People were involved in making decisions about their care and their views were clearly recorded in care plans. People told us staff respected their privacy and upheld their dignity.

People told us they were involved in developing, reviewing and updating their care plans. People told us it was easy to make changes and the service was flexible if they wished to make changes. People told us they felt safe and confident to raise any concerns with the provider.

People told us they could contact the management of the service easily and they responded in a prompt and effective way. The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service.

This announced inspection took place on 28 July 2016. This was the provider’s first inspection since their registration in January 2015. Appa Me is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their homes. At the time of the inspection only one person was using the service for a few hours a week. Therefore we were not able to rate the service against the characteristics of inadequate, requires improvement, good and outstanding. We did not have enough information about the experiences of a sufficient number of people using the service to give a rating to each of the five questions and therefore could not provide an overall rating for the service.

The service had 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.

People told us they felt safe with the staff. The service had clear procedures to recognise and respond to abuse. All staff completed safeguarding training. Senior staff completed risk assessments for people who used the service which provided sufficient guidance for staff to minimise identified risks. The service had a system to manage accidents and incidents to reduce reoccurrence.

The service had enough staff to support people and carried out satisfactory background checks of staff before they started working. The service had an on call system to make sure staff had support outside the office working hours. At the time of our inspection the person using the service was not receiving any support with medication. The service provided an induction and training, and supported staff through regular supervision and yearly appraisal to help them undertake their role.

People’s consent was sought before care was provided. The registered manager was aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). At the time of inspection they told us they were not supporting any people who did not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Staff supported people with food preparation. People’s relatives coordinated health care appointments and health care needs, and staff were available to support people to access health care appointments if needed.

People told us they were consulted about their care and support needs. Staff supported people in a way which was caring, respectful, and protected their privacy and dignity. Staff developed people’s care plans that were tailored to meet their individual needs. Care plans were reviewed regularly and were up to date.

The service had a clear policy and procedure about managing complaints. People knew how to complain and would do so if necessary. The service sought the views of people who used the services. Staff felt supported by the provider. The service had an effective system to assess and monitor the quality of the care people received.