We carried out this inspection between 1 June 2018 and 26 July 2018. The inspection was announced. We contacted the registered manager on 31 May 2018 to give notice of our visit on 1 June 2018 because this is a small service and we needed to ensure the registered manager would be available to speak with us.

At our last inspection of this service between September 2015 and November 2015 we assessed the overall rating to be good. However, we assessed the key question of safe to be requires improvement. At this inspection between 1 June 2018 and 26 July 2018 the rating for the key question of safe had improved to good. We found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

At our inspection between September 2015 and November 2015 we found a breach of legal requirements because the registered provider had not ensured that medicines were managed safely. We had shared the concerns we found with the registered manager during our inspection and she ensured all staff received updated training in the safe handling of medicines while we were carrying out the inspection.

During this inspection in June and July 2018 we found medicines were handled safely and clear records were kept of the support staff had provided to people with their medicines.

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 people who need support due to physical needs, people who have dementia and people who have a learning disability. The service is provided in Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding areas.

Not everyone using Corporate Care Furness Limited receives 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. There were 101 people receiving regulated activity at the time we carried out our inspection.

People received the support they needed to stay in their own homes. The staff treated people with kindness and respect and people valued the support they received.

People were safe and protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

There were enough staff to provide the support people required. The staff were trained to give them the skills and knowledge to provide people’s care.

People were included in agreeing to the care they received. Care was planned and provided to meet people’s needs.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and wishes. Where people requested changes to their planned care these were agreed.

The staff supported people to maintain their independence and protected their dignity.

People were treated with respect. They made choices about their care and the staff respected the decisions people made. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received the support they needed to maintain their health.

There were arrangements to ensure the effective management of the service. The registered manager monitored the quality of the service and took action to further improve the service provided.

The registered manager had a procedure for receiving and responding to complaints. People who used the service and their families knew the registered manager and were confident contacting her as they needed.

People who used this service told us they had been included in agreeing to the care to be provided by the agency. They said they were happy with the service they received and told us they felt safe with the staff who visited them.

People told us,

“I can’t praise the staff enough, they pass all my tests”,

“They, [Care staff], go out of their way to help”,

And said, “I wouldn’t be without them.”

We found the records the agency held about people who used the service and the care staff employed did not protect people from the risk of receiving unsafe or inappropriate care.

People using this agency and their families told us Corporate Care Furness Limited provided a good service and said they had been included in agreeing to the care to be provided by the agency.

People told us they received support from a small team of staff who they knew and who were knowledgeable about the support they needed.

People we spoke to said,

“The staff are all very good, you couldn’t ask for better.”

“I trust the staff 100% and feel safer for their visiting me.”

“The manager is marvellous – She listens and tries to respond to any requests I make.”

We carried out this announced inspection between 24 September and 9 November 2015. We last inspected this service in April 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all of the regulations that we assessed.

Corporate Care Furness Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing care for people who live in Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding area. The agency provides care to people in their own homes, including people who need support due to physical needs, people who have dementia and people who have a learning disability.

There was a registered manager employed at the service. 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

Everyone we spoke with told us that this was a good service and said they would recommend it to other people.

Most people told us that the staff who supported them knew how to provide their care. However we found that people had not always received their medicines safely. We shared our concerns with the registered manager and they ensured all staff received updated training in the safe handling of medicines while we were carrying out this inspection.

People were treated with kindness and respect and were included in all decisions about their care. Care staff knew how to protect people’s privacy and supported people to maintain their independence.

People who used the service knew the registered manager and were confident that she would take action if they raised any concerns.

People valued the service they received and were supported to remain living in their own homes.

Safe systems were used when new staff were recruited to ensure they were suitable to work in people’s homes.

The registered manager asked people for their views about the care they received and acted in response to their feedback.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to the safe handling of medicines.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.