Hartley House is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Hartley House trades as Hartley Locums. Care staff call at people’s homes to provide personal care and support at set times agreed with them. At the time of our inspection there were six people who received personal care from the service.

There was a registered manager in post when we inspected the service. A requirement of the service’s registration is that they have 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.

This was the first inspection of the service following its registration with CQC in May 2017. The manager, who was also the provider, was building their business slowly with only a few clients. When we visited the manager was developing systems and processes to ensure people received a quality service.

People were positive about the care they received and were complimentary of the care staff that supported them. People said they felt safe when supported by care staff. Care staff understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse and there were processes in place to minimise risks to people’s safety, which included information about people’s individual risks in their care plans.

Checks were carried out prior to care staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. New care staff completed induction training and shadowed more experienced care staff to help develop their skills and knowledge before supporting people independently. This ensured they were able to meet people’s needs effectively.

All care staff had been provided with the policies and procedures of Hartley Locums to support them to provide safe and effective care to people. Care staff received specialist training on how to manage medicines so they could safely support people to take them.

People received a service based on their personal needs and care staff usually arrived to carry out their care and support within the timeframes agreed.

People told us care staff maintained their privacy and dignity. People’s nutritional needs were met by the service where appropriate.

The registered manager and care staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and how to put these into practice. Care staff told us they gained people’s consent before providing people with care and support.

The manager/provider had processes to monitor the quality of the service and to understand the experiences of people who used the service. This included regular communication with people, staff, and record checks. People knew how to raise concerns if needed.