HomeAid Community Care is domiciliary care agency that provides support and care for adults with diverse needs so that they are able to continue living at home in their community. There were 42 people using this service when we inspected. The agency provides a service to Milton Keynes and surrounding area as well as further afield in and around Hounslow.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 were kept safe. The needs of the people using the service were met and risk assessments were carried out that enabled staff to provide safe care within people’s own homes. People were also protected from receiving care from unsuitable staff by robust recruitment systems and the provision of appropriate training to all new recruits. There were sufficient numbers of competent and experienced staff available to meet people’s assessed needs.

People’s care plans reflected their needs and the agreed care and support to be provided. Staff were able to demonstrate that they understood what was required of them to provide people with the care they needed to remain living independently in their local community. There were appropriate procedures in place to support people manage their own medicines as part of an agreed care plan.

People’s rights were protected. Their right to make choices about how they preferred their care to be provided was respected. People knew how to raise concerns and complaints and the provider had appropriate policies and procedures in place to manage such eventualities. They were treated with respect for their dignity by friendly and compassionate staff.

People benefitted from a service that was appropriately managed so that they received their service in a timely and reliable way. There were also systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service. People’s views about the quality of their service were sought and acted upon.

People benefitted from receiving care and support from a staff team that had good leadership with regard to the management of the service. People were cared for by staff that had access to the support, supervision, and training they needed to work effectively in their roles.