About the service: Home Instead East Northants is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to 121 people at the time of the inspection.

Home Instead East Northants provides care to younger adults, older people and people with dementia, physical disability, sensory impairment, mental health needs, and learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder.

People’s experience of using this service:

• A systems and processes error for booking short break care, led to care not being provided for one person. The provider had promptly reviewed systems and processes and implemented measures to minimise the risk of re-occurrence.

• People were supported by caregivers that enabled them to live their lives to the full. Caregivers were committed to providing high quality, person-centred care and often went above and beyond their usual duties to ensure people’s needs were met.

• People were in control of the care they received, packages of care were tailored around people’s individual needs. Caregivers respected people’s choices and encouraged people to be independent.

• People were supported by caregivers that were kind and compassionate. Caregivers told us they provided care to people as if they were a member of their own family. They were proud of their work and valued by the service.

• People were supported by caregivers that had been safely recruited and had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People felt safe with the care they received.

• The service responded promptly to feedback from people, staff and relatives to implement changes that would enhance people’s care experience.

• The provider played an active part in people’s local community.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published 12 September 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At our last inspection we rated the service good overall, outstanding in responsive. At this inspection we found the service to be requires improvement in safe and good in responsive. The service remained good overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 15 and 17 June 2016 and was announced.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Home Instead East Northants provides personal care to people who live in their own homes in order for them to maintain their independence. At the time of our inspection the provider confirmed they were providing personal care to 90 people.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and understood how to respond appropriately to any safeguarding concerns. Risk to people and the environment had been assessed and identified hazards which people may face. They were user friendly and provided guidance for staff to manage any risk of harm.

People had been recruited in to their roles safely. Effective recruitment processes were in place and followed by the service and there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. Staff had undergone appropriate checks before commencing their employment to ensure they were safe to work with people.

People told us that their medicines were administered safely and on time.

Staff members had induction training when joining the service, as well as regular on-going training.

The service had a robust and innovative training system that allowed for staff development and accurate matching of staff skill with the needs of the people being supported. Training was initiated according to the specific needs of the people receiving support, and gave staff the opportunity to continuously develop their skills in a way that was specifically relevant to the people they supported.

The service regularly sought out new ideas and contacts to enable the development of the staff team and the improved care of the people being supported.

Staff received regular supervision and support to identify areas for self-development and to ensure they remained competent to meet people’s needs in the best possible way.

People’s consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met.

People were happy with the support they received with food and drink. They were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this.

People told us that staff were able to support them with access to health appointments when necessary. The staff we spoke with told us that they felt confident in supporting people with their health needs and could support people to appointments.

Staff supported people in a caring manner. They knew the people they were supporting well and understood their requirements for care.

People's care was person-centred. Care plans had been written with people's involvement to ensure they were reflective of their needs, wishes and preferences and were reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they were accurate and up-to-date. People were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported.

People’s privacy and dignity was maintained at all times.

People were supported to achieve significant goals that required complex planning and support from staff that knew them well. This meant that positive outcomes were achieved for people including feeling empowered, being able to support others, and being part of a wider community.

Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and were motivated to perform them well and meet people's needs. People and staff were positive about the leadership at the service. They felt well supported and were able to approach the registered manager and team leaders whenever they needed to

The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to use it. An