About the service: Moor and Coast Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats to predominantly older people living in and around the Whitby area. At the time of this inspection, 11 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service: The registered manager displayed a commitment to providing high quality person-centred care. However, we identified shortfalls with the leadership of the service. The registered manager did not have systems in place to check the safety and quality of the service provided. They had limited knowledge of best practice and regulatory requirements as well as the content of their own policies and procedures. Records kept in relation to people who used the service were not complete or accurate. The issues we found during our inspection had not been identified.

Information was not available to help guide staff about the support people needed to manage risks or specific health conditions. Medicine records were not clear or complete, although people told us they received their medicines as prescribed. Safe recruitment processes had not always been followed. We have made a recommendation about safe recruitment processes.

Staff had not been fully supported when they joined the service. Inductions had not taken place and staff had not received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge required. Support provided to staff via supervisions and observations were not recorded.

People were clearly at the heart of the service. Staff treated them with dignity and respect and their independence was promoted. People were supported by a consistent team of staff who were familiar with their likes, dislikes and preferences. Staff spent time getting to know people and their goals. They understood the importance of understanding people’s abilities and working with them to achieve positive outcomes; this level of information was not recorded in people’s care files.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Choices people made were respected although consent was not recorded.

People felt they were listened to and their views respected. People told us the service was responsive to their needs and the support provided had improved their well-being. They were asked to provide feedback on the service provided and had regular visits from the registered manager.

People and staff spoke positively of the management team. The registered manager and staff team were passionate about providing a caring service but accepted there were significant shortfalls with records. They were responsive to the concerns we found during the inspection and began to implement improvements immediately.

More information is in the Detailed Findings section below. For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: This is the first inspection of the service since registering in March 2018.

Why we inspected: This was the first scheduled inspection of the service.

Enforcement: We identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 around good governance and staffing. Details of action we have asked the provider to take can be found at the end of this report.

Follow up: We will work with the provider following this report being published to understand and monitor how they will make changes to ensure the service improves their rating to at least good.