We carried out an unannounced inspection of the service on 18 October 2016. Community Lifeline is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own home. There were 64 people who received the regulated activity of personal care at the time of our inspection.

There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 felt safe and were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe and understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of harm. Risks to people’s health and safety were managed. Plans in place to identify and reduce the risk to people’s safety contained sufficient detail to inform staff how they should minimise the risks. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s care needs and staff were recruited safely. People received the level of support they required to safely manage their medicines.

People were supported by staff who received appropriate induction, training, supervision and a yearly appraisal. Staff were fully supported by management. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received the assistance they required to have enough to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.

People were treated with kindness and compassion by the staff. People reported positive and caring relationships had been developed between themselves and the staff. People felt able to contribute to decisions about their care and were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and how they wanted their care delivered. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People received the care they needed and staff were aware of the support each person required. Care records were written in a person-centred way that focused on people’s wishes and respected their views. Care plans provided information for staff so people could receive personalised care. A complaints process was in place, and people felt able to make a complaint and felt staff would respond in a timely manner.

The service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred, inclusive and open. People and their relatives described communication with the service as good. Staff felt supported by the management. All staff felt the registered manager was approachable and listened to their views or concerns. People were encouraged to share their experience about the service and feedback on those experiences. There were a number of quality assurance processes in place that regularly assessed the quality and effectiveness of the support provided.

People who use the service told us they were treated with respect and consideration and that they were encouraged to express their views and talk about the care and support they needed. One person told us, “I was involved in the planning of my care and I can always call the office if I need to change anything.”

People told us they were treated well by the staff and one person said, “The staff are all friendly and treat me very well; they cannot do enough for me!”

One relative who told us “We were involved in planning and agreeing the care plan for my relative and we have been pleased with the service provided.”

Staff told us they were supported through supervision and regular staff meetings and this enabled them to provide a good quality service to the people who use the service.

The people who use the service were complimentary about the provider and the quality of care they received and the professionalism of care staff. One person told us, “I am very happy with the service I receive, all the staff are professional in their approach, and are able to support my needs.”

During our visit we spoke to the owner of the service and three members of staff. We also contacted one person that used the service and a relative of another.

People we spoke to told us they were happy with the service and the way they or their relative were supported. They told us that the staff knew how to support them and said staff always talked with them when giving them support, telling them what was going on.

We found that people had care plans and risk assessments in place which described their individual support needs.

We saw training records that showed staff were well trained and supervised. We saw that staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable people, and demonstrated to us their knowledge of how to keep people safe.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service.

People who used the service provided by Community Lifeline told us that they were involved in making decisions about the care and support they or their relative received, and felt that they were well supported by the agency. They told us that they were happy with the personal care that staff provided and their privacy and dignity was respected. People using the service said they felt safe and secure with their carers. One person told us, “We get such a very good service from them.” Another person told us.... “So many people locally know them, and use them, simply because they are so reliable and trustworthy.”