Coastal Homecare (Worthing) was inspected on 14 November 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Coastal Homecare (Worthing) is a domiciliary care service providing support to people in their own homes living in Worthing and surrounding areas such as Shoreham-by-sea in West Sussex. Staff were deployed into two geographical areas and named the Adur team and the Worthing team. The service supported older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. At the time of our visit, they were supporting 43 people with personal care.

The service had a registered manager in post who had been registered since the service opened in 2014; therefore the service had not been inspected by 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.

Accidents and incidents were responded to by staff without delay and the appropriate medical professionals were contacted for advice and support when required. Staff were able to speak about what action they would take if they had a concern or felt a person was at risk of potential abuse or neglect. However, we found one incident of potential abuse was not escalated and reported to the local West Sussex safeguarding team by the office. We made a recommendation to the provider so the appropriate action is taken to ensure the local safeguarding authority and the commission are informed about any incidents of potential abuse to people. People and their relatives told us they felt Coastal Homecare (Worthing) provided a safe service.

All people had care records and when risks had been identified for people a risk assessment was put in place. However, risk assessments did not always provide the level of guidance required for staff supporting people in their own homes. The registered manager and team made changes to risk assessments during our inspection.

People, staff and records checked there were sufficient staff to meet the needs of people. Some people told us improvements could be made with regard to the timings of some calls. The service followed safe recruitment practices. People’s medicines were managed safely.

Staff felt confident with the support and guidance they had been given during their induction and subsequent training. Supervisions, appraisals, spot checks and competency assessments were consistently carried out for all staff supporting people. People’s consent to care and treatment was considered. Staff understood the requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and about people’s capacity to make decisions. Some people received support with food and drink and they made positive comments about staff and the way they met this need. Changes in people’s health care needs and their support was reviewed when required. If people required input from other healthcare professionals, this was arranged.

Staff spoke kindly to people and had a caring approach. People spoke positively about the care they received in their own homes. Staff involved people with their care provided and promoted their independence. People were treated with dignity and respect.

People received personalised care. People’s care had been planned and individual care plans were in place. People were involved in reviewing care plans with the management team. People had access to contact information in their own homes. People knew who to approach if they needed to make a complaint or raise concerns to the office.

There were audits in place to measure the quality of care received by people using the service. People’s views about the quality o