Care2Connect is a domiciliary care agency, registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection they were providing a service to 210 people.

At the last inspection carried out in January 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We carried out this inspection as part of our routine schedule of inspections and to check that people were still receiving a good standard of care and support. The inspection took place on 14 March 2017. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

The service had 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 told us they felt safe with staff. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of people. They knew who they would speak to if they had concerns. The service followed the West Sussex safeguarding procedure, which was available to staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in reporting any suspicion of abuse.

People were protected from risks to their health and wellbeing. Up to date plans were in place to manage risks, without unduly restricting people’s independence. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and safe recruitment practices were followed. Medicines were managed safely.

People and their relatives told us that people were treated with respect and their privacy was promoted. Staff were caring and responsive to the needs of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way.

Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs safely and to a good standard. They felt the support received helped them to do their jobs well.

People benefited from receiving a service from staff who worked well together as a team. Staff were confident they could take any concerns to the management and these would be taken seriously. People and their relatives were aware of how to raise a concern and were confident appropriate action would be taken.

People and their relatives were empowered to contribute to improve the service. They had opportunities to feedback their views about the service and quality of the care they had received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The inspection took place on the 27 January 2015 and was announced. Forty eight hours notice of the inspection was given to ensure that the people we needed to speak to were available

Care2Connect is a domicillary care service which provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 140 people were receiving a personal care service.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

The experiences of people were positive. People told us staff were kind and the care they received was good.

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s support needs and care plans were developed outlining how these needs were to be met. We found care plans to be detailed for care staff to understand. People told us they were involved in the care plans and were consulted about their care to ensure wishes and preferences were met. Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to obtain specialist advice about people’s care and treatment. Links with healthcare professionals were developed and maintained; healthcare professionals stated the staff followed their advice and delivered care according to their instructions.

The service considered peoples capacity in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

The provider was in the process of updating their MCA training at the time of our inspection to reflect any updates and changes.

There was an open and transparent culture at the service. The provider sought feedback from staff and people who used the service. Staff received regular support and advice from their manager via phone calls and meetings in the office. Staff were given regular training updates, supervision and development opportunities.

A staff quality survey was undertaken in July 2014, this also included group meetings with the staff for an opportunity to discuss any concerns or improvements they felt was needed. The service had also used an external consultant to interview staff and establish their views on working for the service and areas for improvements. Staff told us they found this to be beneficial

The service had a caring approach. People were involved in their care plans and making decisions about how they would like to be supported. Staff were caring and knowledgeable.

We telephoned the agency 48 hours prior to our visit to inform them of the inspection. This is part of the inspection process for domiciliary care agencies. We visited two people in their homes and spoke with two more people by phone. We also spoke with one relative in their home and two others by phone. We spoke with the managing director, the manager and five staff members. We looked at four sets of care records.

People or their relatives told us that they had been fully informed about the service before accepting it and then had been involved in making choices and decisions about their care. They said they were happy with the care and felt listened to by caring staff who acted quickly to meet any change in their needs. We observed that staff were friendly, polite and respectful in their approach and encouraged people to be as independent as possible. We looked at a selection of written comments. One relative had written 'Just a note to say a huge thank you for all the care you gave my beloved relative. Everyone of you showed them so much care and gave them their dignity which I forever will be grateful for'.

People were supported to receive their medicines safely and as prescribed.

The service had an effective staff recruitment and selection process in place and staff were appropriately trained to deliver care and treatment safely.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service and the provider acted on any concerns or complaints they received.

We spent a day at the office location, reviewing records and processes, interviewing managers and care staff and reviewing care records. We also carried out telephone interviews with service users and their relatives. People told us they were given information about the agency, and staff had explained the various choices available to them. People said they were involved in decisions about their care and support, and that staff promoted their independence, dignity and privacy.

People told us they were aware of their plans of care and support that took account of their needs and wishes, as these plans had been developed with their input.

People told us they felt safe, and that staff had carried out assessments of any areas of risk. We found that staff were aware of safeguarding issues relevant to their role and had been trained in safeguarding adults.

Service user told use they were very happy with the staff who support them. Staff said they felt well supported by the manager of the agency.

Care2Connect carried out regular surveys and questionnaires with service users, relatives and other stakeholders, and had a range of other quality assurance systems in place to monitor and develop the services being provided in line with the identified needs and wishes of people using the service.