The inspection took place on 3 February 2017 and was announced. Brisca recruitment provides personal care to people in Essex and Havering. At the time of our visit there were three people using the service. Another two people had recently used the service prior to our inspection on a short- term basis.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe and that they were treated with dignity and respect. They were supported by a consistent set of staff and told us they were always kept informed if staff were running late. There were no missed visits since October 2016.

Staff were aware of the procedures in place to safeguard people from avoidable harm and had attended safeguarding adults training. They were able to explain how they identified and reported any allegations of abuse.

Medicines were managed safely by staff who had received appropriate training and were aware of the potential side effects of the medicines people received.

People were supported to eat a balanced diet which incorporated their individual or cultural preferences.

Before people started to use the service, assessments took place and care plans were developed with people and their relatives. Care plans were reviewed and reflected people’s social, emotional and physical needs as well as their individual preferences.

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 received mandatory training and underwent a comprehensive induction program when they first started. This included shadowing experienced staff to ensure they knew people’s needs and how to support them effectively. Although spot checks and supervisions were in place, these were not always documented. We made a recommendation about best practice guidelines. There was an appraisal system in place which was yet to be implemented as none of the staff had been with the service for year.

People and their relatives told us they were able to make complaints when required and felt their requests were listened to.

There were effective systems in place to ensure the quality of care delivered was monitored and improved.