This announced inspection took place on 31 August 2017.

The registered provider, Our Care Limited, is a domiciliary care agency which provides support and care to adults living with physical disabilities or mental health difficulties. The majority of people receiving a service lived alone, whilst others lived with other family members. At the time of our inspection, the agency was providing personal care to 18 people.

The service had a 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 were protected from harm when receiving personal care because the provider conducted risk assessments which identified specific risks for each person and gave guidance to care workers about how they could assist people in a way which promoted their independence and choice. We found further improvement was needed to ensure that risks associated with a change in care packages for people were fully documented.

People were supported with their medication by care workers who were trained and assessed as competent to give medicines safely and as prescribed. People believed care workers had the skills and training to undertake the care being provided. We found the provider provided care workers with training and professional development and had a system in place to ensure training was up to date.

People told us they felt safe and comfortable with the regular care workers employed to meet their needs. The provider employed care workers who were able to adjust their work hours to try to ensure there were sufficient care workers available who could safely meet people's needs at the times agreed.

The provider had a clear system for employing new staff and ensured pre-employment checks were conducted prior to staff starting work to confirm workers could be safely employed.

People were protected from abuse because the provider ensured care workers knew their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse and that they received training to assist them.

The provider ensured care workers received training on mental capacity and we found care workers demonstrated a working understanding of the principals of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and obtained people’s consent before providing personal care.

People were able to make choices about the way their care was provided. Care plans focussed on the individual care and support needs of the person, and copies were stored securely at the main office and where appropriate at people’s homes.

People received assistance to access health professionals when needed and the provider ensured they had regular contact with health care professionals to ensure care plans reflected people’s current needs.

People and their relatives told us most care workers were caring and they enjoyed the time they spent with their regular care workers.

The views of people and their relatives about the service were listened to and appropriate actions were taken to improve the service people received.

People and their relatives knew what to do if they had any concerns about their care, and the provider responded positively to any issues or concerns raised.

Care workers took responsibility for the quality of their work and were encouraged to suggest ways to improve the service.

The provider had systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service and obtained feedback on the service provided.