This inspection took place on 25, 26, 27 and 28 September 2018 and was announced. It was the first inspection since the provider registered on 6 March 2017.

Northamptonshire Office is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care, to adults in their own homes in the community. It is registered to provide a service to younger adults, older people, people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, people with a physical disability and people with dementia.

Not everyone using Northamptonshire Office receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection it was confirmed that 16 people using the service received 'personal care’.

A registered manager was 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were protected from the risk of harm. Staff had been trained in safeguarding people and understood how to report any concerns of abuse. Risks to people's safety were assessed to ensure they were effectively managed.

The provider had systems in place to assess and identify the support people required before receiving care. People received care from staff that had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People confirmed that staff respected people's individuality and enabled them to express their wishes and make choices for themselves.

People were treated with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect. Their rights to privacy and freedom of choice were fully upheld. The provider was committed to ensuring they had the right staff with the right approach and understanding to meet people's individual needs.

People’s assessments and care plans considered people's values, beliefs, hobbies and interests along with their goals for the future. Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly. The management team had committed to ensuring continuity of support to people while they recruited new staff. The management team regularly supported people with personal care.

The management team and staff understood the importance of working in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and people's consent was gained before staff provided people with their care. The provider needed to make improvements to ensure that best interest decisions were recorded if appropriate.

The provider had procedures in place to respond to people's concerns. People felt comfortable approaching the management team with a complaint and were confident that concerns or complaints would be appropriately responded to.

Further improvements had been identified by the provider in relation to the electronic system used to plan staff rotas to improve accessibility and reliability for the people receiving care and staff members.

The provider had systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of the service. The provider had recognised the need to further develop these as the business grew to ensure it continued to meet its regulatory requirements.