This inspection took place on 10 April 2018. At the last inspection in February 2016, the service was rated ‘Good’.

At this inspection we found the service now required improvement.

Northants Community Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to 40 people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to both older adults and younger adults.

Not everyone using Northants Community Care Limited receives 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.

The service did not always assess people’s risk in sufficient detail. People had risk assessments in place, but they did not always cover the medical conditions that they had. Clear guidance was not always given to staff to understand how to recognise and respond to a person’s medical condition.

The service did not always notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when required. Staff from the service had been present in people’s homes when certain incidents had taken place, and had not notified CQC of these incidents as they were required to. This was a breach of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.

The service had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff received safeguarding training so they knew how to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and how to report any concerns of abuse. The staffing arrangements were suitable to keep people safe. The staff recruitment practices ensured staff were suitable to work with people. Staff followed infection control procedures to reduce the risks of spreading infection or illness. Medicines were administered safely, and lessons were learnt from any mistakes that were made through staff communication in supervisions and team meetings.

The provider understood their responsibility to comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which came into force in August 2016. The AIS is a framework that makes it a legal requirement for all providers to ensure people with a disability or sensory loss can access and understand information they are given.

Staff received induction training when they first started work at the service. On-going refresher training ensured staff were able to provide care and support for people following current practice. Staff supervision systems ensured that staff received regular one to one supervision and appraisal of their performance.

Where the provider took on the responsibility, staff supported people to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain a varied and balanced diet. The staff supported people to access health appointments when required, including opticians and doctors, to make sure they received continuing healthcare to meet their needs.

People were encouraged to be involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and they gained people's consent before providing personal care. People had their privacy, dignity and confidentiality maintained at all times. The provider followed their complaints procedure when dealing with complaints.

People had their diverse needs assessed, they had positive relationships with staff and received care in line best practice meeting people’s personal preferences. Staff consistently provided people with respectful and compassionate care.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was a visible role model in the service. People, their relatives and other pro

This inspection took place on 25 and 26 February 2016 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Northants Community Care Limited provides personal care to people who live in their own homes in order for them to maintain their independence. At the time of our inspection the provider confirmed they were providing personal care to 27 people.

There was 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff had an understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse and people had risk assessments in place to enable them to be as independent as possible.

Effective recruitment processes were in place and followed by the service and there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s care and support needs

People received medication at the right time. Records showed that medication had been administered safely and accurately.

Staff members had induction training when joining the service, as well as regular ongoing training.

They were well supported by the manager and had regular one to one supervisions.

People were supported to make decisions about all aspects of their life; this was underpinned by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff were knowledgeable of this guidance and correct processes were in place to protect people.

People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this.

People were supported to access health appointments when necessary.

Staff supported people in a caring manner. They knew the people they were supporting well and understood their requirements for care.

People were involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported.

People’s privacy and dignity was maintained at all times.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to use it.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were used effectively to drive future improvement and identify where action was needed

This inspection took place on 14 October 2015 and was announced.

At our previous inspection on 11 July 2015, we found that there was a lack of detail in people’s care plans in relation to the care and support they required. This meant that people could not be confident their needs would be fully met by staff providing care.

This was in breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We asked the provider to provide us with an action plan to address this and to inform us when this would be completed. During this inspection we looked to see whether or not improvements had been made. We found that the provider was now meeting these regulations.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting 'all reports' link for ‘Northants Community Care Limited’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk’

Northants Community Care Limited provides personal care to people who live in their own homes.

The service did not have a registered manager. However, they were due to attend their registration interview the day after our visit. 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.

During this inspection, we found that care plans had been reviewed and updated for all people using the service. Care plans had been written in a person centred way and we found them to be comprehensive, covering all areas of people’s care needs.

This inspection took place on 11 June 2015 and was announced.

Northants Community Care Limited provides personal care to people who live in their own homes in order for them to maintain their independence. At the time of our inspection they were providing personal care to approximately 16 people.

At the time of our inspection the service did not have a registered manager. However, there was a new manager in post who had submitted their application to register with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. However, care plans did not always detail how people wished to be supported and guidance for staff to follow was vague. Care plans were being updated and improved at the time of our inspection

People were protected from abuse and felt safe. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and reporting procedures. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and safe and effective recruitment practices were followed.

There were suitable arrangements in place for the safe management of medicines.

Staff received appropriate support and training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They were provided with on-going training to update their skills and knowledge to support people with their care needs.

People’s consent to care and treatment was sought in line with current legislation.

People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to ensure their dietary needs were met. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required.

People were looked after by staff that were caring, compassionate and promoted their privacy and dignity. People were involved in making decisions about their own care and support.

People were supported to take part in meaningful activities and pursue hobbies and interests.

There was an effective complaints procedure in place.

We saw that people were encouraged to have their say about how the quality of services could be improved and were positive about the leadership provided.

Effective quality assurance systems were in place to obtain feedback, monitor performance and manage risks.