Bspoke Social Care provides registered personal care to people living in their own homes in Lincoln and surrounding villages. The service also operates a ‘social support’ service to assist people in areas such as shopping and accessing leisure facilities although this aspect of the service is not registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). At the time of our inspection eight people were using the registered personal care service.

We inspected the service on 19 October 2016. The inspection was announced.

The service was managed on a full-time basis by the owner who worked in the service on a daily basis, both in the office and delivering care. The owner was the registered provider (‘the provider’) with legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

CQC is required by law to monitor how a provider applies the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and to report on what we find. Staff demonstrated their understanding of how to support people who lacked the capacity to make some decisions for themselves and reflected in this in the way they provided care and support.

People and their relatives told us that they were satisfied with every aspect of the service they received. In particular, the provider’s careful approach to managing staffing resources which meant people were supported by the same staff on a consistent basis.

Staff had the knowledge and skills required to meet people’s individual needs effectively. Staff also knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm. The provider assessed potential risks to people's personal safety and gave staff detailed guidance on how to address them. People who needed staff assistance with their medicines were supported safely. Staff also worked closely with local health and social care services and supported people to access any specialist support they needed.

Staff had established warm, friendly relationships with people and went out of their way to help them in any way they could. People were involved in planning the care they received and their needs and wishes were understood and followed by staff. People were supported to prepare food and drink of their choice, whenever this was required. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and encouraged them to maintain their independence.

The provider had an open, responsive management style which set the cultural tone within the service. She was well-known to, and respected by, everyone connected to the service. She had a strong professional and personal commitment to the provision of person-centred care which was understood by her staff and reflected in the support they provided to the people who used the service. Staff worked together in a supportive way. They enjoyed working for Bspoke Social Care and felt listened to by the provider.