The inspection was announced and took place on 12 May 2017.

Brooklands Homecare Ltd - Worthing is a small domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. The agency provides services to people who live Worthing and Ferring. People who receive a service include those living with frailty or memory loss due to the progression of age, mobility needs and health conditions.

At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a service to 10 people. Visits ranged from 15 minutes to over one hour. The frequency of visits range from one visit per week to four visits per day depending on people’s individual needs.

During our inspection the registered manager was present. 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 and care workers spoke highly of the registered manager and the company. People expressed satisfaction with the service they received. Despite this, we found that quality assurance systems were not being used to ensure accurate records were maintained at the agency office and to drive improvements. We have made a recommendation about this in the main body of the report.

Everyone that we spoke with said that they felt safe with the care workers who supported them. Care workers received training and were knowledgeable in recognising signs of potential abuse and the relevant reporting procedures. Recruitment checks were completed to ensure care workers were safe to support people.

People said that they received care visits at the agreed times and that care workers always stayed for the full allocated time. Care workers also said that they had sufficient time to care for people safely.

Safe medicine systems were in place. Risks to peoples safety were assessed and action taken to reduce any harm to people. Care workers understood the procedures that should be followed in the event of an emergency or if a person was to have an accident or to fall.

People said that care workers had the appropriate skills to meet their needs and that they provided effective care. A programme of induction, training and supervision was in place that equipped care workers with the skills and knowledge needed to care for people. Care workers were knowledgeable about the people they supported.

People were happy with the support they received to eat and drink and to manage any health needs they had. Care workers were provided with information before they started to care for people and were kept informed when people’s needs changed.

Care workers understood people’s rights to be involved in decisions about their care and were able to explain what consent to care meant in practice. People were supported to express their views and to be involved in making decisions about their care and support.

People said that they were treated with kindness and respect by the care workers who supported them. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted. Care workers understood the importance of building trusting relationships with people.

There was a positive culture at the agency that was open, inclusive and empowering. People said that they were aware who to speak to in order to raise concerns. The agency had a complaints procedure in place to respond to people’s concerns and to drive improvement.