Devon C Air Limited Homecare Agency provides personal care and support to a variety of people including older people and people with learning disabilities, who have chosen to live in their own homes. The services provided include personal care, befriending, and domestic work. At the time of the inspection, there were 36 people receiving personal care from the service.

This inspection took place on 28 February, 01 March and completed on 29 June 2017. One adult social care inspector attended on the first and second day of the inspection but was unable to complete the inspection due to operational issues unrelated to the service. A second adult social care inspector returned to the service to complete the inspection on the third day.

This inspection was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because we wanted to make sure the registered manager and staff would be available to speak with us.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good:

People received a service that was safe. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep people safe from harm. Risks had been appropriately assessed and staff had been provided with clear guidance on the management of identified risks. There were enough staff to provide care safely and to support people. Checks were carried out on staff before they started work to assess their suitability to support people who use care and support services. People were protected from the risks associated with unsafe medicine administration because medicines were managed safely.

The service was effective in meeting people's needs. People’s health and wellbeing were promoted and protected as the service recognised the importance of seeking advice from community health and social care professionals. People were supported to eat a healthy diet which promoted their health and well-being, taking into account their nutritional requirements and personal preferences. Staff received regular supervision and the training needed to meet people's needs. The registered manager, provider, and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and, worked to ensure people's rights were respected.

People received a service that was caring. People were cared for and supported by staff who knew them well. Staff were kind, caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People were involved in the planning of their care and were offered choices in how they wished their needs to be met.

The service was responsive to people's needs. People received person centred care and support which promoted their health and wellbeing and enhanced their quality of life. People were aware of how to make a complaint and felt able to raise concerns if something was not right .The provider, and registered manager welcomed comments and complaints and saw them as an opportunity to improve the care provided.

People benefitted from a service that was well led. The vision, values and culture of the service were clearly communicated to and understood by staff. A comprehensive quality assurance system was in place. This meant the quality of service people received was monitored on a regular basis and where shortfalls were identified, they were acted upon. There was an open culture where people and staff were encouraged to provide feedback. Staff felt they received a good level of support and could contribute to the running of the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

On the day of our inspection, the agency was providing personal care to 18 people.

People we spoke with told us they felt that care workers treated them with respect. Comments included ""they ensure my relative feels comfortable, safe and respected” and “they ask before they do anything and give me time to do what I can”. People who used the service and their relatives told us they were very happy with the care they received. They said "they look after me very well” and “whatever you want they’re there for you”. When we spoke with care workers it was evident they knew people well.

People who used the service told us they were happy with the way staff supported them to take their medication. There were clear policies for care workers to follow to make sure people were protected.

We found that recruitment procedures were incomplete. We found that one care worker had started work before essential checks had been undertaken.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Everyone we spoke with told us there was nothing to complain about.

We found records were not kept in a way that protected people's safety and welfare. Care plans were not written in enough detail to ensure that care staff could follow the instructions. A number of records were not signed or dated. This meant we didn’t know when these records had been written or whether they were up-to-date.

We carried out a themed inspection looking at domiciliary care services. We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency as part of a targeted inspection programme of domiciliary care agencies.

The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector joined by an Expert by Experience, who has experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

We used telephone interviews and home visits to people who used the service and to their main carers (a relative or friends).

People told us that they were happy with the care workers who visited and supported them. During one of our home visits the person told us that they had got to know all the care workers and had developed a really good relationship. They told us “I know who is coming and if anything happens I am given plenty of warning of any change. One of the managers usually covers for sickness or holidays, so I get no surprises”. Another person told us “it is like having care from your own family, I have got so used to them coming, I look forward to their company”.

People also told us that they were happy with the continuity of care they received. One person told them, “I get on very well with my carers, I have the same few who I know well, and they do exactly what I want”. Another person said, “The three particular carers we have now are excellent! They go above and beyond the call of duty”. One person commented on the way the care workers helped them remain independent. “They are marvellous, I cannot fault them. They help me into the bath, but they let me do as much as I can. They don’t take over”.

Devon C Air Limited Homecare Agency provides care and support to a variety of people including older people and people with learning disabilities, who have chosen to live in their own homes. The services provided include personal care, befriending, and domestic work. People may need care and support for a period of time to recover from illness or as a longer term arrangement.

The service has 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.

We visited the office on 12 November 2014. At the time of our inspection 32 people were using the service.

Our last inspection took place in November 2013. At that time, we found the service was not meeting the regulations in relation to staff recruitment and records. We told the provider they needed to make improvements. The provider sent us an action plan telling us what they were going to do to meet the regulations. On this visit we checked and found improvements had been made.

People and their relatives were very pleased with the care they received and praised the quality of the staff and management. Staff worked in a reliable, responsive, and flexible way to ensure people’s needs and preferences were met. One person said “care staff go out of their way and go that extra mile to make sure you are cared for in the way you wish”.

People told us they felt safe when staff visited them to provide care. They knew who would be visiting them and had a regular group of staff who they knew and trusted. Appropriate staff recruitment checks had been undertaken to ensure staff were suitable to work with people. Staff received safeguarding training and knew what to do if they were concerned that a person was being abused.

Staff understood the needs of the people they were supporting. People told us their care was provided with kindness and compassion. Staff were trained to ensure they provided care and support that met people’s needs. They demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as the vision of the service. People told us they were well matched with care staff who had the appropriate skills to care for them. People told us their visits were made at the agreed time. Staff worked flexibly to accommodate people’s chosen activities and outings.

People and their relatives were involved in care planning. Staff and managers knew people well and were able to tell us how they supported people and met their care needs appropriately. Where there was the possibility that one person lacked capacity to make certain decisions; a mental capacity assessment had not been carried out. The registered manager had the appropriate assessment forms available and confirmed they would review the person’s care plan.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care. The service encouraged feedback and used this to drive improvements. The provider aimed to provide people with high quality personalised care. People told us the provider was approachable. One person described them as “lovely people who are very adaptable and approachable”. Staff told us the provider, managers and other staff were very supportive and they could ring them at any time for advice.