This inspection took place on 23 August 2017. The inspection was announced. The provider was given two days’ notice of our inspection. This was to ensure the registered manager and staff were available when we visited the agency’s office.

At the last inspection in September 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good but was rated Requires Improvement in Well Led, as we had not always been notified of some incidents that occurred at the service (which did not involve staff), and risk assessments could have been more detailed to ensure people received safe and consistent care.

Mobile Care Services is a large domiciliary care agency which provides personal care for people in their own homes. The agency covered several geographical areas in Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. Most people received support from staff several times each day. On the day of our inspection visit the agency was providing support to 480 people.

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. There was a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection visit. We refer to the registered manager as the manager in the body of this report.

Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse. The manager checked staff’s suitability for their role before they started working at the service. The manager made sure there were enough staff to support people safely. However, staff did not always arrive on time for their scheduled calls.

Staff offered people choice and respected their decisions. People were complimentary about staff that supported them, describing them as kind and caring.

Care was delivered based on the individual needs of each person. People and their relatives were included in planning how they were cared for and supported, and people were supported by a consistent staff team who had the skills to meet their needs. People were referred to healthcare services when their health needs changed.

Staff knew people well and respected their privacy and dignity. People told us they knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. The manager had procedures in place to respond to complaints in a timely way.

The manager and provider checked the quality of the service and acted to continuously improve it; people and their relatives were encouraged to share their opinions about the quality of the service which were listened to.

We spoke with the registered provider, registered manager, care co-ordinators and support workers during our visit to the office. Following the office visit we spoke with three people who used the service or their relatives and three support workers, over the telephone.

People told us support workers stayed long enough to do everything they needed. They said that members of staff were polite and caring. One person said, “They are all excellent, I have nothing but praise for them.”

There were effective care planning arrangements in place in the service, which included up to date care plans and risk assessments. We found care plans provided staff with sufficient information about the care and support people required.

Staff had the appropriate experience and skills to meet the needs of people who used the service.

Staff told us they received excellent support from the management team. A staff member told us, “We can ring up, or go to the management team for help or advice at any time.”

Records showed the agency had systems in place to monitor the care provided and for managing identified risks. People told us they were satisfied with the care they received. One person told us, “I am very pleased with the way they operate.” Another person said, “I have recommended them to other people because I think they are a wonderful agency.”

We visited Mobile Care Services Limited's offices on 15 October 2012. Our visit was unannounced which meant no one who worked there knew we were coming.

During our visit we met and spoke with, six members of staff and the registered manager. We spoke with two people using the service and a social care professional who worked closely with the service. We looked at four sets of care plans and care records and five staff member’s recruitment records.

A relative we spoke with told us, “We cannot fault the carers, they are always polite.” A person who used the service told us that generally carers arrived at the expected times but could sometimes be late in the evening.

The staff we spoke with told us they had regular opportunities to update their skills and knowledge so that they could understand and meet people's needs.

The records we looked at during the inspection were in good order and stored securely. This included recruitment records, which showed that appropriate checks had taken place to ensure that staff supporting people with their care were fit to do so.

The inspection was announced and took place on 19 and 21 September 2015.

Mobile Care Services Limited is a large independent domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people in their own homes in North Warwickshire and the surrounding villages, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. People who receive a service include those living with physical frailty due to older age, dementia, mental ill health and people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a service to 432 people. Visits to people ranged from quarter of an hour up to one and half hours. The frequency of visits ranged from several visits each day to a weekly visit depending on people’s individual needs.

The agency is required to have 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. At the time of this inspection the agency had a registered manager in post. During this inspection the registered manager was not present due to taking their planned leave.

The feedback that we received from people that used the service or their relatives was good. People told us that they felt safe when care workers undertook call visits to them in their homes. Staff told us they knew how to keep people safe from the risk of avoidable harm or abuse. Risks to people were assessed and care plans were in place. Staff told us they felt they had the training and skills needed to meet people’s needs. There were sufficient staff to undertake the number of visits people needed.

People had good relationships with their care workers and there was a consistency in the care workers that undertook their calls. Call visits took place within the agreed time slots and there had been no missed visits to people. The agency was flexible and responded positively to people’s requests to changes in their call visit times. Feedback was sought from people about the service they received.

Staff were supported in their roles. They received the training that they needed, attended regular meetings and were kept informed by office staff of any changes they needed to be aware of. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of service provided to people.