Care at Home Service-Henleaze Road is based in Bristol and provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 130 people were receiving personal care. The inspection took place on 13 December 2017 and was announced. When the service was last inspected in September 2015, there were no breaches of the legal requirements identified. The service was rated as good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

A registered manager was 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.’

Where people were supported with medicines, we found they were managed safely. Risk assessments and risk management plans were completed.

People’s care records provided evidence of people’s involvement and people who used the service told us that choices and preferences were fully taken into account.

Audits were in place and, where shortfalls were identified, actions were taken to make improvements.

Safe recruitment procedures were followed before new staff were appointed. Appropriate checks were undertaken to ensure staff were of good character and were suitable for their role. Staff feedback was positive about the support, guidance, training and supervision they received.

People were cared for in a kind and respectful way. People were supported to maintain their health and the service liaised with other external health professional when needed.

People who used the service, relatives and staff all spoke positively of the leadership and management of the service.

We undertook an announced inspection of Care at Home Service - Henleaze Road on 1 and 2 September 2015. When the service was last inspected in June 2013 there were no breaches of the legal requirements identified.

Care at Home Service - Henleaze Road provides personal care to people living in their own homes within the Bristol area. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to 115 people.

A registered manager was in post at the time of inspection. 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 said they felt safe with the staff employed at the service and told us their care needs were met. There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s assessed needs and the provider had systems that monitored the attendance at care appointments. Safe recruitment systems were in operation.

People received the support they required with their medicines. Staff demonstrated a good awareness on the identification and reporting of actual or suspected abuse. People’s individual risks were assessed and where required risk management guidance was produced to reduce the risk of unsafe or inappropriate care.

The service had liaised with appropriate healthcare professionals when needed and people received support with their meals and drinks. Where required, additional training to meet people’s nutritional need was provided to staff.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and gave examples of how they supported people with decisions. The provider had ensured staff had received continual training to ensure they provided effective care to people. The provider had an induction programme aligned to the new Care Certificate and staff received supervision and appraisal.

People spoke positively about the caring nature of the staff at the service. People were given important information about the service and the service knew people well and supported people in a caring way. Staff at the service understood the needs of the people they cared for and the service had a compliments log that reflected the feedback we received from people we spoke with.

People felt the service was responsive to their needs and that care was delivered in accordance with their needs. People’s care records were personalised and were reviewed regularly. Where required, the service had been responsive to people’s changing needs and completed a care review following a change in their assessed needs.

The provider had systems that ensured people had a regular opportunity to give their views on the service and appropriate supporting records of these reviews were maintained. Where required, care records were changed when the need was identified. The provider had a complaints procedure and details of how to make a complaint were communicated to people.

People commented positively about the contact and communication they received from the management of the service. Staff told us they were happy in their roles and spoke positively about their employment and the support they received. The provider had systems to communicate matters about the service with staff.

There were systems that monitored that monitored the quality of service provided by staff and reflective learning was undertaken if required to achieve the required standard. Additional auditing systems that monitored care records, medicines and staff records were also undertaken.

We visited the office of the Care at Home Service which is based in Bristol. The location forms part of the registered charity, the St Monica Trust. The Service currently supports approximately 80 people.

We spoke with six people and two relatives of people who used the service. We also spoke with four members of staff, the assistant manager and registered manager who supported the people who used the service. During the inspection we visited a person’s home to examine the records held by them and to seek their views of the service.

The people we spoke with who used the service all provided positive feedback regarding their experience of the service. Comments included “it’s a marvellous organisation. I have an excellent relationship with the staff, they’re wonderful” and “they’re flexible regarding my varying requests”.

We viewed four care plans. Individual needs were established before the person used the service. We found that the care plans were detailed and specific to the individual's needs and preferences.

People told us that they were involved in making decisions about their care and support. One person told us “I am listened to and my views are accommodated”.

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and they were provided with training appropriate to their roles. We found that staff were regularly supervised.

We found that the provider had robust systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the services provided.