About the service:

Homelife Carers (Barnstaple) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the North Devon area. Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 420 people were receiving ‘personal care.’

People’s experience of using this service:

The service provided safe care to people. One person commented: “When it comes to safety, I can’t praise them highly enough. I’d recommend them to Buckingham Palace.” Measures to manage risk were as least restrictive as possible to protect people’s freedom. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

Care files were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. Their views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff provided care that was kind and compassionate. People commented: "We know the staff well now they act like we are friends, always very cheery" and "They (staff) don't just come here to do a job. They treat me as a real person with rights, needs and feelings."

There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People received effective care and support from staff who were well trained and competent.

Staff spoke positively about communication and how the management team worked well with them and encouraged their professional development.

A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received. The service made continuous improvements in response to their findings.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published in November 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

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

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This announced inspection took place on 12, 17 and 20 October 2016. The provider was given short notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. At our last inspection in January 2014 we found the service was meeting the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act (2008) we inspected.

Homelife Carers (Barnstaple) provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The areas the service covers include Barnstaple, Bideford, Ilfracombe, Braunton, Chumleigh and Torrington. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 620 people receiving a personal care service.

When we visited 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.

People felt safe and staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding of what constituted abuse and how to report if concerns were raised. Measures to manage risk were as least restrictive as possible to protect people’s freedom. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

Care files were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. Their views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. They were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were involved in people’s care to ensure they received the right care and treatment.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff were motivated and inspired to offer care that was kind and compassionate.

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. Staffing arrangements were flexible in order to meet people’s individual needs. Staff received training and regular support to keep their skills up to date in order to support people appropriately.

There was good management and leadership at the service. There was a clear organisational structure, where all staff knew their roles and responsibilities. Staff spoke positively about communication and how the management team worked well with them, encouraged team working and an open culture.

A number of effective methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received.

HomeLife Carers (Barnstaple) provided personal care and support to people living in their own homes. During our inspection we visited three people who used the service and conducted telephone interviews to obtain the views of a further eighteen people. We spoke with the registered manager and four staff during our inspection visit. In addition, following the inspection we spoke with a further thirteen staff by telephone. We also spoke with one health and social care professional who had regular contact with the service to commission services.

People receiving the service spoke positively about the care and support. One person told us, "They are wonderful, good as gold. They are experts in their methods of care.” Another told us “The staff are very good. You can leave them to get on. They are very trustworthy.” And a third added “I don’t know what I would do without them, the girls are marvellous.” People also told us they were treated with respect and were kept informed of any changes to the delivery of their care.

We reviewed ten sets of care records and saw how people were involved in the development of their care plans. We spoke with the providers’ training officer and saw how staff received training, which reduced the risk of vulnerable people being abused. Staff we spoke with understood their role in relation to this.

We reviewed twelve recruitment files and saw that in all cases, appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work. This was followed with a comprehensive induction period during which time staff worked alongside more experienced carers. We saw processes in place for regular review and monitoring of the quality of services provided and saw where incidents had occurred, the provider had put in place actions to reduce the likelihood of them happening again.