This announced inspection took place on 19 March 2018.

Bluefield Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection, 47 people were using the service.

This is the first inspection of the service since registration with the Care Quality Commission on 7 March 2017.

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.

People’s care planning and delivery minimised the risk of abuse. People had risks to their safety and well-being assessed and managed. There were enough experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

Staff underwent appropriate recruitment procedures to determine their suitability to deliver care. Staff were trained to administer and manage people’s medicines. However, none of the people using the service required that support at the time of our inspection.

People received support to eat healthily, to maintain good health and to access healthcare services.

People’s care delivery met current legislation using evidence based practice. Staff received the support they required to undertake their roles including training and supervision. Staff applied the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) principles when supporting people. People who were unable to make decisions about their care received the support they needed.

Staff delivered care in a manner which responded to people’s individual needs. People were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and support plans. Staff had sufficient guidance to deliver care and manage risks to people’s health and well-being.

People were treated with respect, kindness and compassion. Staff respected people’s decisions and choices about how they wanted their care delivered.

The registered manager sought people’s views about the service and acted on their feedback to improve care delivery. People had their complaints taken seriously, investigated and resolved in line with the provider’s procedure.

People using the service, their relatives and staff were happy with the registered manager and the running of the service. The registered manager monitored staff’s practice to ensure they delivered high standards of care. Staff used feedback to improve their practice.

Appropriate systems were in place and effectively used to monitor the quality of the service. Shortfalls identified were addressed which resulted in improvements to care delivery.

The registered manager worked closely with other agencies to provide effective care.