On The Spot Homecare Service, is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. People being supported are predominantly older people who live in Skipton and the surrounding area. This announced inspection site visit activity started 10 August 2018 and ended 17 August 2018. At the time of our inspection 43 people used the service.

The registered provider and owner of the service, is also the registered 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.

Not everyone using On The Spot Homecare Service 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.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and harm. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood about the types and signs of abuse. Risk assessments identified any potential hazards to their well-being and medicines were administered safely where people needed this support. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and safe recruitment practices helped to prevent unsuitable staff from working at the service. Spot checks were completed to monitor their practice.

Where people needed support with their nutritional needs they were supported to make choices in relation to their food and drink and to maintain good health.

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 were kind and caring and people received a service that responded to their needs and any changes in their health or personal circumstances. The care and support people received was person centred and staff maintained people’s dignity and respect. Staff knew people well and understood their preferences, routines and the support they needed to maintain their independence.

People were confident any comments or complaints would be listened to and actions taken to prevent recurrence. Documentation was in place to record accidents and incidents.

There were good working relationships with professionals and staff said the registered manager was approachable and supportive.

Although the manager checked on the quality of the service provided, we have made a recommendation they develop more robust quality assurance systems to ensure the service continually improves.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We undertook this announced inspection on the 15 December 2015. At the previous inspection, which took place on 6 November 2013 the service met all of the regulations that we assessed.

On The Spot Homecare service is registered to provide personal care to people who live in their own home. The service supports people who live in the Skipton and surrounding area. The agency office is in the centre of Skipton. There is parking available nearby, in a ‘pay and display’ car park. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing support for 50 people. The agency employs 15 care staff and also a registered manager.

The registered provider is a sole owner who is also the registered 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 told us they felt safe when receiving support from staff and that they always respected their wishes. People also told us the service was flexible and wherever possible the service would accommodate any changes to their requirements. Risks to people’s safety and welfare had been assessed and information about how to support people to manage risks was recorded in people's care plan.

Appropriate checks were made as part of the service’s recruitment process. Newly appointed staff had undertaken an induction programme and arrangements were in place for staff to complete updated mandatory training on medicines management.

Care plans were comprehensively detailed to ensure people’s care needs were met by staff from the service. Some of the people who used the service were supported with taking their prescribed medication and staff told us they were trained and competent to assist people with this. People we spoke with confirmed that they received good support from staff with their medicines.

Staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding about the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), which aims to protect people who may not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves and said that they would speak with the registered manager if they had any concerns about people’s safety and welfare.

Effective systems were in place to provide staff support including supervision sessions and staff meetings. Staff told us they felt confident in the management of the service and they said that the providers were approachable and supportive. Although staff told us they received regular supervision and records we looked at supported this, annual appraisals were overdue. The registered manager informed us that these would be completed by the end of the January 2016.

Everyone who gave us feedback knew how to make a complaint. People told us they knew how to contact the owner/registered manager if they had any concerns or queries.

The service was well-led. The registered manager was committed to providing a good quality service. Systems and processes were in place to monitor the service and make improvements where they could. This included internal audits and regular contact with people using the service, to check they were satisfied with their care packages. Policies and procedures had been updated to ensure they were in line with current legislation.