This inspection visit took place on 22 August 2017 and was announced.

Good Companions Care at Home Agency provides support people to live as independently as they can in in their own homes. Support includes personal care, shopping and cleaning. The office base is located in a residential area of Carlisle. At the time of our inspection Good Companions Care at Home Agency provided support to over 60 people.

At the last comprehensive inspection in May 2015 the service was rated overall as good. However the safe domain required improvement as there was a breach of regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (regulated activities) Regulations 2014. Although the registered manager had taken action where there had been a safeguarding concern, they had not notified safeguarding issues to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required.

This breach was met on this inspection and notifications had been sent to CQC as required.

We spoke with people who received a service and their relatives. People we spoke with told us they felt safe and well supported. They told us they received patient and attentive care and they liked the staff who supported them.

People told us they had been visited by the registered manager or assistant manager before their support began who carried out an assessment of their needs. They said staff were polite and respectful, patient and caring. There were procedures in place to protect people from abuse and unsafe care. Staff were familiar with these.

We saw risk assessments were in place for each person and for their environment. This provided guidance for staff and kept people safe.

Staff followed the medicines procedure and supported people with medicines safely. People able to manage their own medicines were encouraged to do so.

People told us they were usually supported by the same few staff who they knew and liked. Only in an emergency were staff who did not usually assist them sent to support them. People told us they had confidence in ‘their staff team’ as they knew how they liked to be supported and cared for them in the way they liked.

Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience needed to care for people. Recruitment was robust and staff told us the training was useful and informative.

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.

Staff supported people to have a good diet. They assisted or prepared meals and drinks for them.

People who received support or where appropriate their relatives, were involved in planning and amending their care plans. Their consent and agreement to provide care were sought.

People who used the service and their relatives told us they knew how to make a complaint and were given opportunities to discuss any concerns.

Senior staff monitored the support staff provided to people. They checked staff arrived on time and supported people in the way people wanted. Audits of care records and risk assessments were carried out regularly.

People told us the registered manager and staff team were approachable and supportive and listened to their views.

Legal obligations, including conditions of registration from CQC, and those placed on them by other external organisations were understood and met.

This inspection took place on the 18th, 19th and 20th of May and was unannounced.

Good Companions Care at Home Agency provides care and support for people who live in their own homes. Their office is located in Carlisle and they provide services in and around the city.

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 found that the service was not reporting concerns about vulnerable adults correctly though they were ensuring people were safe. This meant they were in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (regulated activities) Regulations 2014 Notification of Other Incidents 18 (2) (e).

The service had sufficient appropriately recruited staff available to support people.

Staff were well trained and supported people to live independently.

People told us that staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect.

Care plans were written in a straightforward manner and based on thorough assessments. They contained sufficient information to enable people to be supported correctly.

The manager showed that they were keen to improve and implement new ideas. There was a quality assurance system in place at the service.