The inspection took place on 23 and 24 November 2016 and was announced.

Home Instead Senior Care is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a service to 29 people. Visits were a minimum of one hour and the frequency of visits varied depending on people's individual needs.

The previous registered manager left the service in September 2016. The providers have been actively seeking a replacement manager. There is an acting manager (who had previously been the registered manager of the service) and deputy in post, who with the support of the provider (who had previously been a registered manager), oversee the agency. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the agency. 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 agency is run.

People, their relatives and other stakeholders told us that Home Instead provided an excellent service. People were supported by staff and management who were committed to people being in control of their own lives and care. Staff shared the provider’s passion and commitment to provide the best care possible. The provider and staff all worked to ‘make a difference’ to people.

Staff were supported and trained and had the skills they needed to support people. Staff were recruited safely and were asked questions related to the values of the service to help recruit the right staff. Staff said they felt supported and confident in their roles. The office staff also supported people so they knew them and could step in to cover any shortfalls like sickness. Staff were regularly given feedback to improve their performance or recognise their achievements.

There were enough staff to over all the calls and meet people’s needs. Staff were on time for visits, they often stayed beyond the allotted time if they needed to and people said they did not feel rushed. People told us staff were ‘kind and caring, often going above and beyond what was expected.’ Staff treated the people they supported and their families with dignity and respect, always remembering they were in someone else’s home.

People and staff were matched by the agency, taking into account their hobbies and life experiences. People told us they had built positive relationships with staff. Staff used their knowledge of people to encourage them to stay well and remain independent. People were left snacks or drinks they liked to encourage them to eat and drink. If staff were concerned about people’s health or weight, they contacted the office who would speak to the person’s family or make a referral for support. Relatives told us this prompt response to health needs had enabled their family members to stay in their own home which was their wish.

The provider, manager and staff worked with local charities and organisations to support people to be active and take part in activities. The provider and manager set up a ‘Friday club’ for people to be able to socialise and to reduce the feeling of isolation. The provider also delivered dementia training to local groups and families to increase their understanding of the condition.

People had care plans which were developed by them, and were based on their preferences. Some of the care plans were very detailed and gave staff the information they needed to provide people’s care. People chose the times of their calls and the staff worked around this so that everyone had a call at a time that suited them.

Staff knew how to recognise and respond to abuse. There had been no safeguarding incidents in the past year, but the manager and provider knew what to do if they occurred. Risks to people and staff had been thoroughly assessed and action taken to mitigate them when necessary.