The inspection took place on 1 and 6 December 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

One to One Plus North forms part of a larger service provided by Outreach 3 Way which is part of Dimensions. This includes outreach services, supported living and day centres, all of which fall outside of the Care Quality Commission’s scope of registration. The domiciliary care provides personal care to people living in their own homes or within the supported living services. At the time of our inspection, the service supported 20 people with personal care. The service works with people with a learning disability and autism. Due to their complex needs, people were not able to tell us in any detail about their experiences of the care they received.

The service had a manager in place that was not registered with Care Quality Commission, however an application had been submitted. 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 risks to their health and wellbeing. Up to date plans were in place to manage risks, without unduly restricting people’s independence.

People were safe with the staff and knew who they would speak to if they had concerns. The service followed the West Sussex safeguarding procedure, which was available to staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in reporting any suspicion of abuse.

People were treated with respect and their privacy was promoted. Staff were caring and responsive to the needs of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way.

Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs safely and to a good standard. They felt the support received helped them to do their jobs well.

There were enough staff deployed to support people with their assessed needs. The manager considered people’s needs when allocating staff and staffing levels were calculated appropriately. The manager followed safe recruitment procedures to ensure that staff working with people were suitable for their roles.

People benefited from receiving a service from staff who worked well together as a team. Staff were confident they could take any concerns to the management and these would be taken seriously. People were aware of how to raise a concern and were confident appropriate action would be taken.

People and their relatives were empowered to contribute to improve the service. They had opportunities to feedback their views about the service and quality of the care they had received.

We were informed that, at the time of this inspection, approximately 15 people were being provided with personal care by the service in their own homes. The expert by experience spoke with five people during the course of the inspection.

People the expert spoke with confirmed they were very happy with the care and support that had been provided. The expert by experience provided us with a written report of their findings. They reported, ‘They (the provider) promote new and interesting hobbies for the service users. They are also encouraged to explore different things and broaden their minds. Also they (service users) have a group session called ‘Everybody Counts’ and this is where they discuss any changes they want and any improvements to make the service better.’

We also rang five care workers after we had visited the office. We were able to speak to one care worker. The others were not available when we rang the numbers given to us by the manager. We informed the manager of that we were unable to make contact with some care workers. This care worker demonstrated that they had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They were also knowledgeable about the individual needs of each person they visited to provide personal care.

We also gathered evidence of people's experiences of the service by looking at a selection of records. They included care records and care workers' recruitment records. We found that the records we looked at were up to date and well maintained. They also ensured people received care that was safe, appropriate and in accordance with individual wishes and needs.

We asked about the agency's systems for monitoring the quality of the service provided. We were provided with evidence that people had been asked for their views about the service. We were also provided with evidence that demonstrated representatives of the provider conducted compliance audits of the service every three months.

We spoke with three people, or the relatives of people who have used the service. We also spoke with two members of staff who were involved in providing care to people. All interviews were carried out by telephone after we had visited the office.

People expressed satisfaction with the agency and with the quality of care provided. People said that care workers treated them with respect and that they felt safe with the care and support they received. One person told us, "I am happy with the care I receive." A relative told us, “They are really good. They treat my relative really well, as if they are one of their own!” A second relative told us, “I think the manager is very accessible and the agency is well run. The support they provide is excellent; my relative gets a good service. The staff are well trained.”

They also confirmed they had been given a copy of their care plan and that they had agreed to the care provided. Care workers we spoke with confirmed they had received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to perform the tasks expected of them.

We looked at a selection of care records. They demonstrated that the planning and delivery of care had been routinely reviewed to ensure they met people's current needs.