Prime Care at Home Limited provides personal care and treatment for adults living in their own homes. On the day of the inspection the registered manager informed us that there were a total of 34 people receiving personal care from the service.

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

Staff recruitment checks were in place to protect people from receiving personal care from unsuitable staff.

People and relatives we spoke with told us they thought the service ensured that people received safe personal care. Staff had been trained in safeguarding (protecting people from abuse) and staff understood their responsibilities in this area.

Risk assessments were not consistently in place to protect people from risks to their health and welfare.

We saw that medicines were, in the main, supplied safely and on time, to protect people’s health needs.

Staff had, in the main, received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to be able to meet people's needs and there was a plan in place to extend staff knowledge on people's conditions.

Staff, in the main, understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to allow, as much as possible, people to have effective choices about how they lived their lives.

People and relatives we spoke with told us that staff were friendly, kind, positive and caring.

People using the service or their relatives had been involved in making decisions about how and what personal care was needed to meet their needs.

Care plans were individual to the people using the service to ensure that their individual needs could be met.

People and relatives told us they would tell staff or management if they had any concerns, and they were confident these would be properly followed up.

People and their relatives were satisfied with how the service was run and staff felt they were supported in their work by the senior management of the service.

Management carried out audits in order to check that the service was meeting people's needs and to ensure people were provided with a quality service

Prime Care at Home Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing support to people in their own homes.

The service had a registered manager in post. There were clear management structures offering support and leadership.

Records showed that CQC had been notified, as required by law, of most of the incidents in the home that could affect the health, safety and welfare of people. We found that one safeguarding notification had not been completed. The provider ensured all staff knew about this and we saw improvements to systems were put in place on the day of our inspection.

People using the service were encouraged to retain their independence and decided how to spend their time. People agreed to the level of support they wanted and how they wanted to be assisted. Where people’s needs changed, the provider responded and reviewed the care provided to ensure people were safe. This meant the people received care to meet their needs.

The staffing was managed flexibly to ensure people received their agreed care. Where people had healthcare appointments or personal commitments people could request the support was changed. This meant the provider was responsive to individual people’s support needs.

People told us they were happy with the care and support they received. They felt the staff were well trained and understood their needs. We saw there were systems in place to match people using the service with appropriately suited staff.

People told us the staff understood them, they confirmed the staff were kind and thoughtful and treated them with respect. People spoke positively about the care and support delivered to them in their own home.

We looked at how medication was administered, recorded and managed. We found suitable systems were in place, but improvements could be made with the recording of information.

The service had a registered manager in post. There were clear management structures offering support and leadership. Systems were in place to ensure the service was monitored and the provider sought to make improvements where needed. People using the service were consulted about the management of the service and could influence the service delivery.

Records showed that CQC had been notified, as required by law, of most of the incidents that could affect the health, safety and welfare of people.

People who used the service told us they were involved in making decisions about their care and were treated with dignity and respect by care workers. One person said, “They work with you ask you what you need and try to accommodate your needs.” They also told us that they received the care they needed. One person told us, "They are very responsive to my needs.”

People also told us that they felt safe whilst being cared for by care workers. They also said that the care workers were well trained and knew what they were doing. One person said, “They are very professional and make you feel like they are a friend coming to help, not a stranger invading your environment.” Another person told us, “Of all the agencies I have used over the years these are far superior in terms of staff training and skills, they pick their staff more carefully and try to match staff to people.”

People said that they were asked for feedback about how well the service was meeting their needs. One person said, “They contact me by phone and they do a questionnaire. They ask me about timekeeping and whether they meet my needs.” People also told us they were highly satisfied with Prime Care at Home Limited. Their comments included, “It’s the best agency I’ve ever used." And, “I think it’s excellent, I am always very confident they come when they are supposed to. I’m very happy with the service.”

People told us that they were regularly involved in developing care plans and that they understood the care and support choices they had. One person told us “My husband’s health has deteriorated and his needs have changed. He contacted Prime Care to discuss his needs and they responded straight away and were able to meet his requirements”.

People were very impressed with the quality of care that was delivered by the provider. Everybody gave us positive comments about the provider. A person told us that the provider was the third care agency that they had used. They said “They are brilliant. I’m so impressed. I have no intention of changing agencies again. The staff are like an extension of the family”.

The provider has clear safeguarding procedures in place. Staff receive annual safeguarding training and are knowledgable about types of abuse as well as possible signs and symptoms of abuse. People told us that they felt safe when staff from the provider visited to provide care.

The provider has effective recruitment and selection procedures in place and carry out relevant checks when they employ staff.

The provider had appropriate systems in place for gathering, recording and evaluating information about the quality of service of the care, treatment and support provided.