Brendoncare Stildon Mews is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care services to an extra care scheme where people live independently in their own flats. There were 11 flats in a purpose-built building. At the time of our inspection, four people were being provided with personal care. The service provides care and support to people with varied personal care needs, several of whom were living with memory loss, dementia or long-term health conditions.

The flats were equipped with alarms to alert staff to emergencies between care calls. A communal space with a small kitchen and table and chairs is available for the people living in the flats to meet socially and do activities.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection..

Staff continued to have a good understanding of safeguarding adults at risk and knew how to recognise signs of abuse. At the time of the inspection people administered their own medicines. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and appropriate action had been taken and recorded by the registered manager.

People and their relatives felt safe using the service and that staff were trustworthy. People continued to receive personalised care that supported them. People continued to receive safe care and treatment. Risks to people’s health and safety were appropriately assessed. People were protected from infection.

People were supported by staff that knew them well, understood their needs, treated them as an individual and looked at providing additional assistance if a person’s needs changed.

We observed staff treating people and discussing people’s needs with dignity, sensitivity and respect. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care and welfare. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff felt fully supported by the registered manager and deputy manager to undertake their roles. Staff continued to receive training to support them with their role to ensure they could meet people's needs effectively. The provider invested in additional staff training and career development.

The service continued to be well led by the registered manager who had a clear vision and values for the service which was embedded in the care given and in the conduct of staff. Staff and the management team promoted an ethos of treating people as an individual, this was confirmed in what people told us and in the care observed during the inspection.

There was a robust governance framework in place to monitor the quality of care and support was provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Brendoncare Stildon Mews is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care services to an extra care scheme run by Hanover Housing. People live independently in their own flats and care calls are provided during the hours of 7am and 10pm. A sleep-in carer is available overnight for emergencies. The 13 flats are equipped with alarms to alert staff to emergencies between care calls. Brendoncare Stildon Mews is adjoined by the nursing home Brendoncare Stildon.

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 and were happy with the support they received from Brendoncare Stildon Mews. One person said “The carers are good, very safety conscious”. Another person said of the care provided “It’s lovely to know it’s there”. People were safe as they were supported by staff that were trained in safeguarding adults at risk procedures and knew how to recognise signs of abuse. Medicines were managed and administered safely. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and appropriate action had been taken and recorded by the registered manager.

We saw people were supported by staff that knew them well, gave them individual attention and looked at providing additional assistance as and when required. People were at the centre of their care and staff and the management team promoted this ethos and culture.

Staff received training to support them with their role on a continuous basis to ensure they could meet people’s needs effectively. Staff and the registered manager were knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They were aware this legislation protected the rights of people who lacked capacity to make decisions about their care and welfare.

People told us that staff were kind and caring. One person said “I think staff are very nice, very kind and caring”. Another person said “Carers are very good, very kind and caring”. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. Staff gave us examples of how they did this on a day to day basis.

People received regular assessments and reviews of their needs and of any identified risks. Records were maintained in relation to people’s healthcare and people had a hospital passport in place that contained important information should they need to go to hospital.

The service was well led and had good leadership and direction from the registered manager. Staff felt fully supported by the registered manager to undertake their roles. A person centred culture was promoted and embedded. There were robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure a high quality of care and support was provided.

On the day of our visit Brendoncare Stildon Mews was providing personal care for four people in their own homes. We met with the manager and reviewed the service's records and three people's care records. We were then invited into the home of three people who received care from the service where we discussed their experiences. We also spoke with one of the two daytime care workers.

All of the people that we spoke with were complimentary about the service that they received from the service. One person told us, "I have a good carer, they have a heart of gold". This person went on to say, “The service runs like a well-oiled machine”. Another person said, “I cannot fault any of them, they are very helpful and kind”.

We found that people had planned care that met their needs and that they were involved in the planning of this care. We also found that were treated with respect by care workers. We found that the service ensured that people had consented to the assistance that they were receiving.

We found that the service took infection control seriously and had systems in place to prevent the spread of infectious disease. We found that the service had followed correct recruitment procedures on staff before they started to work for Brendoncare Stildon Mews.

We found that the service had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service that they were providing.

People told us they were happy with the care they received and that they chose the activities they wanted to participate in. One person said ‘‘staff support me in the things I have difficulty doing.’’

Care plans were detailed and gave clear information about people’s needs, preferences and the way people wanted to be supported. This information provided staff with a good understanding of people’s needs.

Staff told us they were able to protect people from the risk of abuse because they were trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults. We found the staff we spoke to were knowledgable in safeguarding matters and were able to raise a safeguarding alert if they needed to.

We saw a regular training programme in place which supported staff to deliver care to an appropriate standard. We saw records which showed staff received regular supervision and were appraised annually. Staff we spoke to told us the management was approachable and supportive.

The provider told us people had person centred care plans to meet their needs. We reviewed a sample of the care records and found each contained a person centred care plan. People told us they were involved in planning their care. We saw evidence of people preferences documented in their care records.

The provider had a system in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service provided.