he inspection took place 13 October 2016. The domiciliary care agency is part of a range of housing and care services provided for former merchant seafarers and their families by the charity Nautilus Care. The service provides domestic and social support for people as well as a personal care service in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 14 people were receiving a personal care service.

The service had a registered manager who was supported by a care manager. 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 said they felt safe whilst being supported by the service. People told us that staff were caring and were responsive to their needs. We found that people were involved in the planning of their care and had an opportunity to say what was important to them. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding and knowledge of people`s individual needs and preferences.

Care plans were person centred and were written to reflect the support needs of people who used the service. Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were identified and plans put in place to manage any risks.

The provider had robust and effective recruitment processes in place so that people were supported by staff of a suitable character. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet the needs of the people who used the service. Staff completed a programme of training and had individual supervision meetings with their line manager.

Where people needed support to take their prescribed medicines, medication agreements had been drawn up and agreed with them and administration records were completed.

People were given written information about the services available and about how to make a complaint. Systems were in place for checking on the quality of service provided. People were asked to give their views about the service and their comments were acted on. Service development plans were in place and had been shared with the people who lived at Mariners' Park.

The standard of record keeping required improvement to ensure that management information was current and readily available.