About the service: M & N Healthcare (Edgbaston) is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care to people living in their own home. At the time of inspection there were three people receiving a regulated activity.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service had not always assessed and mitigated risks particularly in relation to the personal care they provided. This meant we could not be confident that risks were being safely managed. We discussed this with the registered manager and advised it was important to ensure all risks were assessed and mitigated in relation to all people who received a regulated activity. This practice needed to be embedded before the service expanded.

People's needs had not always been fully assessed. We discussed this with the registered manager who advised some people had declined a full assessment due to not wanting support with more than one element of personal care. We have made a recommendation about completing assessments of needs.

Safeguarding policies and procedures sought to protect people from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about what might be a safeguarding concern and how to raise this both within the service or with the local authority.

Staff had been recruited safely and were deployed in ways which ensured people received their full visit.

Staff had received an induction programme and ongoing training which had meant they had access to the skills and knowledge they needed to support people effectively.

People had been supported to maintain their health and wellbeing, one person was doing regular exercises with support from staff which had maintained their mobility.

People had been supported to make their own decisions. At the time of inspection there was no one who was subject to any restrictions which needed to be legally authorised. Staff were aware of the importance of achieving consent from people before supporting them with any care.

Staff were caring and described by the people they supported as kindly.

Staff understood the importance of maintaining people's privacy and dignity.

People received care that was person centred and responsive to their needs and preferences. Regular reviews ensured any changes could be responded to in a timely way.

People understood how to raise any concerns they may have and felt confident they would be responded to promptly.

The registered manager was committed to providing high quality person centred care. They ensured staff were aware of the standards required and completed spot checks of performance and competencies to ensure standards had been maintained.

There was an auditing system in place to ensure quality was maintained however this had not identified the issues around risks and assessment that we found.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection for this service since they registered in July 2017.

Why we inspected: This was a planned and scheduled inspection.

Follow up: The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.

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