The inspection took place on 4 April 2017 and was announced with 48 hours' notice. Goldsmith Personnel Limited (Oxfordshire) is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care in people’s own homes. At the time of this inspection 25 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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. At the time of the inspection, the registered manager was on extended leave. The service was being run by a manager during this period.

At the last inspection on 21 February 2016, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements. These included ensuring risks to people were recorded in their care records. At this inspection on 4 April 2017 we found improvements had been made. Risk assessments in relation to people’s individual risks were in place. These set out how to support people in a way that mitigated the hazards identified.

There were enough care staff deployed by the service to support people safely. Checks were carried out on care staff before they began working at the service to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Care staff had the knowledge and received training how to recognise and report concerns to keep people safe. Records regarding people’s medicines had been completed.

At the last inspection on 21 February 2016, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements. These included ensuring the manager and all staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and accurately recorded any decisions necessary. At this inspection on 4 April 2017 we found improvements had been made. The service followed the guidelines within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and consent to care was sought before care was undertaken. People’s hydration and nutrition needs were managed well. People were supported to have access to health professionals where needed.

Staff received the training and support from their managers that enabled them to deliver effective care and carry out their roles and responsibilities.

People were supported by caring staff who took the time to get to know people’s needs. People were provided with information about their care and privacy and dignity was respected and promoted.

People had been assessed to determine if the service was able to meet their needs. Care plans were accurate, up to date and contained personalised information about people’s care and emotional needs and relevant personal history. Regular reviews of people’s care needs had taken place. People knew how to complain and complaints were responded to in line with provider’s policy.

The manager promoted a positive culture that meant people had personalised care from staff that cared for them. The service was well managed and care staff commented they felt supported and said how much they enjoyed their jobs. Records were well kept and were up to date which meant care was monitored closely. Quality of the service was monitored and actioned if changes or improvements were needed.

The inspection was announced and took place on 21, 22 and 23 February 2016. Goldsmith Personnel Limited provides care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 32 people were receiving a service.

There was a registered manager in post although they were on a planned leave of absence from the service at the time of the inspection. 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, their relatives and staff felt the service was well managed. Before the registered manager had gone on leave they had worked with the current manager to support and train them to take over the running of the service in their absence.

The management team sought feedback from people and their relatives and was continually striving to improve the quality of the service. However, systems to monitor the quality of the service were not always effective because they had not identified the issues we found during our inspection.

People felt safe when being supported by staff. Staff were clear about the action they would take to keep people safe from abuse. People and staff were confident they could raise any concerns and these would be dealt with.

People had a range of risk assessments in place. However, the service had not ensured people were always protected from the risks associated with their care. This was because where risks were identified action was not always taken to ensure the risks were mitigated.

People were asked for their consent before care was carried out. However, the manager and some staff did not understand their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) because they were not clear about the action they must take if the person was assessed as lacking capacity to consent to their care.

People told us staff were respectful, kind and caring. People were cared for in a dignified way. People were involved in their care planning. They were provided with person-centred care which encouraged choice and independence. Staff knew people well and understood their individual preferences. People were supported to maintain their health and were referred for specialist advice as required.

People told us there was enough staff to meet their needs. People told us staff were rarely late and stayed for the planned amount of time.

People felt staff were knowledgeable in how to care for them. Staff completed a range of training and were supported to gain qualifications to improve their skills and knowledge. Staff felt motivated and supported to improve the quality of care provided to people. Staff did not always benefit from having regular supervision or plans to help them improve their performance.

The management team carried out regular spot checks to ensure staff were completing the required tasks to an acceptable standard and to gather feedback about the service to check people were happy with their care.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.