Caremark Dacorum and St Albans is a domiciliary care service that is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of our inspection 59 people were being supported with personal care.

This was the first inspection of this service since registering with the Care Quality Commission on 30 October 2017.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of this 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 were supported by staff who knew about safeguarding and how to report any concerns. Risk assessments were in place to help staff to support people safely and measures were in place to reduce people’s assessed risks. Staff had been recruited safely with pre-employment checks completed before they started working at the service. People’s needs were met in a timely way by enough staff with the right skills and knowledge to support them. People’s medicines were administered as prescribed and managed safely. Systems were in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.

Staff were trained to meet people’s care and support needs. Staff were supported through individual supervisions, team meetings and competency checks. People were supported with eating and drinking when required. Staff supported people to access healthcare professionals when required.

People were involved in their care decisions and staff promoted people’s independence as much as possible. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and how it related to people who used the service.

People received a caring service by staff who knew them well. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff. People were involved in the development and review of their care plans. The service operated flexibly and was centred around people’s needs, lifestyles and preferences. There was a complaints and comments process in place and people were aware of how to make a complaint or raise a concern. They were confident any concerns raised would be properly addressed and resolved.

The registered manager led by example and encouraged an open, transparent and inclusive culture within the service. There were appropriate quality assurance systems and processes in place to monitor the overall quality and safety of the service. People were asked to give feedback on the service and their views were taken into account. The provider and registered manager worked cohesively to help make continual improvements. Audits included the review of documents, care plans and risk assessments. Along with staff training and recruitment records.