This inspection took place on 5 June 2018 and was announced. This was the first inspection of Caroline Cares for You since the service was registered with the Care Quality Commission in June 2017. We rated the service as outstanding.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice because the service is a small and the registered manager is often out visiting staff or assisting with care. We therefore needed to make sure someone would be in the office to support our inspection.

At the time of our inspection, 25 people were supported with their personal care needs by the service. There was 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 service demonstrated the characteristics of being outstanding in providing effective care. The serviced worked closely and effectively in partnership with health professionals and therefore people were supported to live healthy lives, good access to health care services and ongoing support with their health. People were supported by highly skilled and experienced staff who had received training tailored to people’s needs and showed a desire to become knowledgeable about areas of care such as medicines and infections to help them identify any concerns immediately. Care staff were supported by a strong and robust manager. People and their relatives were involved in all decisions about how they wanted their care and support needs met. People spoke positively about the professional relationships they had with staff. Staff ensured people consented to the care they received and were aware of how to respect people's choices and rights. People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and were encouraged to have a balanced diet.

Everyone said staff went above and beyond what was expected from them. People and their relatives spoke extremely positively about the outstanding care they received and referred to staff and the provider as being extremely kind, caring and friendly. People were placed at the centre of their care and people told us they felt listened to and valued by staff by the staff who supported them. People told us staff always respected their privacy and dignity when providing care and where supported to develop their independence.

The leadership within the service was very strong with clear values and expectations of what they wanted to achieve. An open and a positive culture was promoted. People were supported by caring committed staff. Staff said they felt valued and were listened to by the provider. Staff were confident in their roles and were aware of their responsibilities and said they had access to support and training they needed. Professionals who worked with the service spoke highly of them.

Effective quality audit checks were in place and completed regularly to monitor the quality of the service provided. People were happy to recommend the service to family and friends based on their own experiences.

People and their relatives were extremely positive about the care provided by the service and said that they felt safe receiving care in their homes. Staff recognised the signs of potential abuse and knew the reporting system to keep people safe. People were placed at the centre of their care and their risks were assessed an