Hills Independent Homecare Service is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes.

At the last inspection, which took place on 23 September 2015, the service was rated good. At this inspection, which took place on 24 October 2017 to 3 November 2017, we found the service remained good. At the time of our inspection, 23 people were receiving care.

People continued to be cared for by staff who provided care and support that ensured people's safety and welfare and took into account each person’s individual preferences. People were supported to manage their medicines safely.

People were cared for by staff who had been recruited and employed only after appropriate checks had been completed. There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff were sufficiently skilled, experienced and supported to enable them to meet people's needs effectively.

People were effectively supported with decision making and supported to have as much choice and control of their lives as possible. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and access healthcare when they required it.

People received care and support from staff who were caring, kind and gentle. Staff treated people with respect and dignity. Staff knew the people they supported well. They understood, and met, people’s individual preferences and support needs.

There was a registered manager in post 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.

The service was well managed. The provider continued to have a robust complaints procedure in place. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service people received and continually improve the service provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People we spoke with were positive about the care and support they received from care staff and told us that: “The carers are cheerful and help me with what I need.” People told us that they received care and support in a respectful and dignified manner.

We saw evidence of peoples’ preferences in the way they wanted their care to be provided and planned. Care and support was appropriately assessed and each care visit was documented with guidelines for staff regarding the care and support the person required.

We saw evidence that staff were trained regarding the administration of medicines. Staff were aware of their responsibilities when recording the administration of medicines that they had given or prompted people to take.

There were induction and mandatory training programmes in place to ensure that staff were competent to deliver care. Care staff were regularly supervised to monitor their work performance and development needs.

The agency did not have an effective system in place to monitor and audit the quality of the services that were provided to people. Improvements are needed to quality assurance arrangements to monitor and ensure that people receive a safe and effective service.

The agency had increased in size since our last inspection and the owners had recently recruited a new member of staff to assist in the provision of care. We spoke with three people and they all spoke highly of the service received by them, or their relative. One said, "We cannot fault them, they have been fantastic". Another said, "They are friendly and professional".

The care records provided clear guidance to staff about how to meet the person's assessed needs and records were kept of the care that had been provided. Regular reviews of people's care needs took place with changes made promptly when needed.

Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place and induction had been provided to ensure that the member of staff had the appropriate skills to meet the needs of people who used the agency.

The agency has two people currently using the service who live in the same house-hold. We were unable to speak to them but spoke to a relative who is closely involved in the support of their relatives. They were very happy with the agency and said it enabled their relatives to stay in their home for a bit longer. They said that both staff were cheerful and helpful. They were knowledgeable and had been a big support for the whole family. They were described as superb, laid back and very professional. Their knowledge and experience had made relatives feel that their relatives were in safe hands.

Hills Independent Homecare Service is registered to provide Personal Care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection it was providing a service to 16 people.

This announced inspection took place on 23 & 29 September 2015. At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager in place. The service is managed by two people, one of whom is the registered manager. The registered manager was not available during the inspection when we visited the office as part 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 felt safe and staff knew what actions to take if they thought that anyone had been harmed in any way. There were procedures in place which were being followed by staff to ensure that people received their medication as prescribed. Risk assessments had been completed to identify and reduce risks to people where possible.

There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs. Staff received the support and training they needed to carry out their roles effectively.

Staff were kind and compassionate when working with people. They knew people well and were aware of their preferences, and their likes and dislikes. People’s privacy and dignity were upheld.

Staff monitored people’s health and welfare needs and acted on issues identified

There was a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident to raise any concerns either with the staff or the registered manager.

The registered manager obtained views from people who used the service, their relatives and staff about the quality of the service.