This inspection took place on 20 July 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure the manager and staff would be in the office. This was the first inspection of this service.

Caring Lane Limited provides personal care support to people with a range of care needs who live in their own homes within the local community. At the time of our inspection there were three people using the service. The service had a registered manager 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Assessments were in place to support people where risks to their health and welfare had been identified. There were appropriate safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures in place. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff to meet people’s needs. The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and acted according to this legislation. Staff had completed an induction when they started work and received training relevant to the needs of people using the service. Care plans detailed people’s nutritional and support needs. People had access to health and social care professionals when they needed them.

People were provided with appropriate information about the service. People said staff were kind, respectful and caring and their privacy and dignity was maintained. People were consulted about their care and care plans were in place that provided information for staff on how to support people safely and appropriately. People were aware of the complaints procedure.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people. The provider took into account the views of people using the service through telephone monitoring calls and practice observations. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support from the registered manager. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support was always available to people using the service and staff when they needed it.