Caremark (Chichester) is a domiciliary care agency, which provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats in the community. The registered office is on the Chilgrove Road near Lavant outside of Chichester in West Sussex and provides a care service to the surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 50 people in their own home who had a mixture of needs. This included people living with dementia, older people and people with a learning disability.

The service had a new manager in post who had commenced their employment in May 2017. They had yet to register with the Commission. 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 receiving care from staff in their own homes. Some people received support with their medicines. We observed and records confirmed medicines were mostly managed safely. However, one incident involving a person who had missed their medicines had not been referred to the local authority safeguarding team for their review. The manager completed the incident report retrospectively and we made a recommendation and have discussed this further in the Well-led section of our report.

Staff supporting people in their own homes, had been trained in safeguarding adults at risk and could describe different types of abuse and what action they would take if they were concerned.

Risks to people were identified, assessed and managed appropriately. Care plans provided staff with guidance on how to support people and mitigate risks. Staffing levels were assessed based on people's needs. People and staff felt there were sufficient staff and were supported at the agreed times. Safe recruitment practices were in place.

Staff had completed training in a range of areas considered essential in order to look after people effectively. New staff completed the Care Certificate, a universally recognised qualification. Staff were encouraged to study for additional qualifications such as diplomas in health and social care. Staff had regular supervision meetings with their line managers and attended team meetings. Staff had been trained in mental capacity and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Some people required support at meal-times and the staff team met those needs with flexibility. Staff were able to support people to access a range of healthcare professionals when needed.

People were supported by kind and caring staff and spoke positively of the relationships that had developed. People were encouraged to be involved in all aspects of their care and to express their views. They were treated with dignity and respect by staff.

Care plans contained personalised information about people that was responsive to their needs.

Information included people's personal histories, likes, dislikes and preferences. Complaints were managed in line with the provider's policy.

People were involved in all aspects of the service and their feedback was sought through the completion of an annual survey. Responses were positive. Staff felt supported by management team and were asked for their views on their employment through an annual survey. People spoke of the good quality care they received and of the caring staff team. A range of systems was in place to measure and monitor the care delivered and the service overall.

Since our inspection the manager has left the service and the deputy manager has achieved the post of manager. The provider has informed us the new manager will be applying to register with the Commission by the end of August 2017.