This inspection took place on 26 July 2016 and was announced, because we needed to make sure there was someone at the provider’s offices. We last inspected this service in January 2014 and found that the provider was meeting the legal requirements in the areas we looked at.

Blue Sapphire Care Limited is a community based service in Leighton Buzzard, providing care to people in their own homes. There were fifty-two people using the service at the time of our inspection.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 were safe using the service because staff were trained in safeguarding and they knew how to keep people safe from avoidable harm. There was enough staff to safely meet people’s needs however, people’s care visits had been arranged in a way that did not allow staff any travel time from one person’s home to the next. People had individualised risk assessments in place that gave guidance to staff on keeping them safe and their medicines were managed appropriately, where required. The provider had policies and procedures in place for the safe recruitment of new staff although checks of reference from previous staffs’ employers needed to be more robust.

The service was effective because staff were knowledgeable about people’s care needs and were trained to meet these needs. The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met and where required, people were supported with the preparation of food and drinks.

People were able to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care. Staff were caring, friendly and approachable. They were also respectful of people’s dignity and privacy.

The service was responsive to people’s needs which had been identified prior to them starting to use the service, and were reviewed regularly. People were supported in a personalised way and they all had individualised care plans in place.

The service was also well-led. There was a registered manager in post who was a director of the provider company. They supported staff to take part in the development of the service and carried out regular audits and surveys to monitor the quality of the service.

When we inspected Blue Sapphire Limited, they were providing care packages to approximately 52 people in their own homes. We spoke with six people who used the service and four relatives of people who used the service, and found they were satisfied with the support they received. One person said, “I am very satisfied, and have been since day one.” Another person told us, "They are just like members of the family."

We saw from records that people were involved in planning their care and making decisions about their support. Records confirmed that people were offered support which encouraged independence and ensured their individual needs were met. People told us the staff were friendly and respectful in their approach. One relative said “I would recommend them to anyone.”

We saw that staff had undergone effective recruitment checks which meant they were able to support people to be kept safe and free from harm. We also found that staff had received appropriate training to enable them to support people effectively.

We saw that the registered manager ensured regular monitoring of the service took place and acted upon feedback that was given to drive improvement.

People and staff said they felt able to approach the manager to discuss anything, and were confident that swift action would be taken to resolve any issues. We saw a robust complaints system was in place.