The inspection took place on 31 October 2018 and was announced because we needed to be sure someone would be available at the offices.

Assured Care (Gaudium Ltd) is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. Not everyone using the service receives personal care; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

At the time of our inspection the service was providing domiciliary support to 11 people.

The service operates from offices close to Penrith town centre.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection 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.

The service had 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 have made a recommendation about the management of complaints and compliments.

We have made a recommendation about the implementation of the Accessible Information Standard.

We have made a recommendation about the provider’s policies and procedures.

Systems were in place to help make sure people were safe and protected from the risks of harm or abuse.

Medicines were managed in a safe way. There were some gaps in the management of creams and ointments. The provider started to address these matters straight away.

People using the service had been included in the decisions and planning process of their care and support needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported the in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were sufficient numbers of skilled and trained staff working at the service.

People who used the service told us that the staff and management at the service were caring, kind and respectful.

People could comment or raise issues about the service in several ways including formally via a complaints process.

Information at the service was not available in various formats. However, it met the communication needs of the current people who used the service. The provider started to consider these matters straight away.

There was a quality assurance system in place at the service and the provider was open to feedback, taking action where aspects of the service required improving.

There were no breaches of the regulations. The service was meeting all of the relevant fundamental standards.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This announced comprehensive inspection took place on 10 March 2016. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice of the visit because the location provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes and we needed to ensure there were people in the office to assist with our inspection.

Gaudium Ltd (Gaudium) is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide care and support to people living in their own homes in the Eden area of Cumbria. Care is provided to older people living with dementia and other complex needs, adults with a physical disability and younger adults. The provider also operates day care facilities but these are not regulated by CQC.

This service was registered in August 2015 and this inspection was the first since registration. At the time of our visit Gaudium provided care and support to seven people in their own homes.

Gaudium had two registered managers in post on the day of our inspection visit. The registered provider and the care services manager have both been registered by CQC to manage this 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.

People were receiving safe care and support from this service. They were protected from the risk of harm or abuse by staff who were trained to keep them safe.

People were included in all decisions about their care and their rights were respected. The service followed the requirements of the Mental capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who may not be able to make important decisions for themselves.

The provider had robust staff recruitment procedures in place. This ensured only suitable people were employed by Gaudium to support people with a variety of needs.

There were sufficient staff employed to ensure peoples assessed needs were met.

Staff were well trained and treated people with kindness and consideration ensuring their privacy and dignity were respected. Staff had formed close relationships with the people they supported.

Staff were supported by the registered managers through staff supervision.

There was an appropriate internal quality audit system in place to monitor the provision of care and support provided.