About the service: My Home Care Limited provides care at home for eight people who receive personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their relatives valued the service provided to them, and in particular, the ability of the service to respond flexibly to support their needs. They told us staff respected their choices and preferences.

Pre-employment checks were carried out before staff began working in the service. Once employed, staff were supported using induction, training and supervision.

People were protected from harm by staff who understood safeguarding and were familiar with each person’s own personal risks. Risks assessments were in place. Staff knew more about people’s risks than was documented. The provider and the registered manager agreed to improve the risks assessments to capture the knowledge held by staff. They sent us copies of the improvements they had made.

Staff had been trained in medicines administration. They had added prescribed medicines to the records. These were not double signed. Staff and the registered manager agreed to amend the records accordingly.

Staff were aware of people’s dietary needs and supported people to do their shopping.

The provider had a system in place to monitor accidents. There had been no accidents since our last inspection.

People were routinely supported to access medical appointments. Staff attended appointments with people so they could learn about their needs and implement medical advice.

The provider and the registered manager had experience of working in care at home services and expressed the view they wished the service to remain manageable in the hours it delivered. This was to avoid the quality of the service being compromised.

Irrespective of a person’s abilities we found people were not discriminated against. People and their relatives told us they felt involved in their care and had been listened to by staff. The service worked in partnership with people, their family members and other professionals to meet people’s needs.

The management team had on-call arrangements in place to ensure staff had back up support when required.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were given choices and their decisions were respected.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good (Last report published September 2018.)

Why we inspected: We carried out this inspection due concern which was passed to us by another agency. During our inspection we explored these concerns and found the service continued to meet the requirements of a rating of ‘Good’.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive and discussions with partner agencies.

This was an announced inspection which took place on 26 June, 14 and 15 August 2018. We gave the provider 24 hours' notice to ensure someone would be available at the office.

My Homecare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to younger adults and older people. People may have needs such as learning impairment and mental health due to acquired brain injury.

At the time of inspection six people were using the service.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with the Care Quality Commission.

A registered manager was in place. 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 and their relatives told us the service kept them safe. They trusted the workers who supported them. Risks to people were assessed and plans put in place to reduce the chances of them occurring. Policies and procedures were in place to safeguard people from abuse. People's medicines were managed safely. The provider and registered manager monitored staffing levels to ensure enough staff were deployed to support people safely.

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. Staff had received training and had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Best Interest Decision Making, when people were unable to make decisions themselves. There were other opportunities for staff to receive training to meet people's care needs.

Staff were aware of people's nutritional needs and made sure they were supported with eating and drinking where necessary. People's health needs were identified and staff worked with other health care professionals to ensure these were addressed.

People praised the kind and caring approach of staff. Staff were respectful and explained clearly how people's privacy and dignity were maintained. Staff understood the needs of people and care plans were person-centred. People and their relatives spoke very positively about the care provided.

People were provided with opportunities to follow their interests and hobbies. They were supported to contribute and to be part of the local community.

Staff said the management team were supportive and approachable. Communication was effective, ensuring people, their relatives and other relevant agencies were kept up-to-date about any changes in people's care and support needs and the running of the service.

People had the opportunity to give their views about the service. There was consultation with people and family members and their views were used to improve the service. The provider undertook a range of audits to check on the quality of care provided.