This inspection took place on 18 January 2016 and was announced. At the last inspection in January 2015 we found the provider was meeting the regulations we looked at.

Connections Care Limited provides care and support to people in Leeds and surrounding areas. The agency's office is situated in Middleton. They offer a range of services to individuals who live in their own homes and need support or care.

There was 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.

People we spoke with told us they were very happy with the care they received from the service.

People who used the service told us they felt safe with the staff and the care they were provided with. We found there were systems in place to protect people from risk of harm and appropriate recruitment procedures were in place. There were policies and procedures in place in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and staff showed they understood how to ensure their practice was in line with the MCA.

We found people were cared for, or supported by, appropriately trained staff. Staff received support to help them understand how to deliver good care. People who used the service said their visit times suited their wishes and staff always stayed the agreed length of time. Some people told us that calls were sometimes late, but they were always notified of this by a call from the office or care worker.

We looked at six staff personnel files in detail and saw the recruitment process in place ensured that staff were suitable and safe to work in the agency. Staff we spoke with told us they received supervisions and had annual appraisals carried out by the registered manager. We saw minutes from staff meetings which showed they had taken place on a regular basis and were well attended by staff.

The seven care/support plans we looked at were person centred and were reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they provided accurate and up to date information and were fit for purpose.

People told us they got the support they needed with meals and healthcare. We saw arrangements for medication were safe.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of service provision and we found there were appropriate systems in place for the management of complaints.