This was an announced inspection which took place on 5 September 2017

Artius Care Limited provides care for people in their own homes. Currently they were supporting 18 People. On the day of our visit the service was providing personal care to people of varying ages, with a range of needs including people living with dementia and people with physical disabilities.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

No one we spoke with had any concerns regarding the safety of people who used the service. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults. Staff were aware of the procedures to follow if they considered someone was at risk of abuse.

Risks to people were considered and risk assessments were contained in people’s care plans. These gave staff the information they needed to help keep people safe.

There were enough staff employed with suitable skills to support people effectively. Recruitment was thorough and suitable checks were carried out to check staff suitability to work with people who may be at risk.

There was a policy and procedure regarding staff supporting people to take their medicines and this was recorded in their care records. Only staff who had completed training and who were deemed competent to administer medicines were allowed to support people with their medicines.

Each person had a care plan which gave guidance to staff on the support people needed and how this should be provided.

Training and support was provided for staff and there was an induction for new staff which included shadowing an experienced staff member before they started to provide support to people.

Staff and people confirmed that before any care was provided consent was obtained. Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005

Each member of staff was issued with a staff handbook to guide them on the agency’s policies and procedures.

People were given support to eat and drink in line with their care plan and their individual needs. Artius Care Limited supported people to access healthcare professionals as and when needed.

People told us that the staff who supported them were kind and caring. They confirmed they were able to express their views and that they were treated with dignity and respect. There was a clear complaints procedure to enable people to raise concerns and a copy was provided to people in their homes should they need to consult it..

People’s needs were regularly reviewed to ensure the support they were receiving was up to date and meeting their individual needs.

The provider had a policy and procedure for quality assurance. The registered manager and senior staff carried out spot checks on staff to monitor the quality of the service provided and to seek the views of the people who were supported by the service. Surveys were sent out to people, relatives and staff each year by the provider to seek their views on the service provided.