This announced comprehensive inspection took place on 18 January 2017. The registered provider who is also the registered manager was given 48 hours’ notice of the visit because the location provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes and the registered manager works as part of the staff team on a daily basis.

Private Personal Assistance is a small domiciliary care agency based in the market town of Sedbergh. It offers a range of services for people in their own homes. The service provides support with personal care and domestic tasks to help maintain independence for people living in Sedbergh and around the surrounding rural areas.

There was a registered manager in post on the day of our inspection 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. In this service the registered manager is also the registered provider.

At our last inspection visit in December 2015 we made two recommendations relating to the management of records for the administration of medications and one about updating policies and procedures for recruitment and induction training. We found during this inspection that these recommendations had been implemented by the registered provider.

We found that people who used this service were safe. The staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff had completed training in the safety of vulnerable adults and knew the signs to look for and how to report any incidents of concern.

We saw that recruitment procedures were robust this ensured only suitable people worked in the service. We saw that staffing levels according to the rotas were good throughout all areas of the service. Staff training was up to date. We saw that staff were supported by the management team through regular staff supervision and appraisals.

We saw that medicines were administered safely and records were updated regularly. Staff who were responsible for the administration of medications had completed the appropriate training.

We found that the service worked very well with a variety of external agencies such as social services, occupational therapists, other care providers and mental health professionals to provide appropriate care and support to meet people’s physical and emotional needs.

People received support from a regular team of staff who they knew well and who understood the care and support they required. We saw that people were treated with kindness, dignity and respect and they made very positive comments about the staff who visited their homes.

Support was given in a manner to people to promote their independence for example supporting them to join in with activities in the community.

The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves. Best interest meetings were held to assist people who were not always able to make difficult decisions for themselves and where relevant independent advocacy was arranged.

This announced comprehensive inspection took place on 12 December 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the visit because the location provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes.

Private Personal Assistance is a small domiciliary care agency based in the market town of Sedbergh. It offers a range of services for people in their own homes. The service provides support with personal care and domestic tasks to help maintain independence for people living in and around the surrounding rural areas.

There was a registered manager in post on the day of our inspection 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. In this service the registered manager is also the registered provider.

We found that not all the information relating to the administration of medications had been recorded accurately in some people’s care records. Staff who were responsible for the administration of medications had completed the appropriate training.

We found that people who used this service were safe. The staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff had completed training in the safety of vulnerable adults and knew the signs to look for and how to report any incidents of concern. There were good systems in place to ensure people knew the staff that supported them.

We saw that recruitment procedures were robust this ensured only suitable people worked in the service. We saw that staffing levels were good with a number of flexible part time staff supporting the registered manager and care manager. Staff training was up to date. We saw that staff team were supported by the management team through regular staff supervision, appraisals and team meetings.

We found that the service worked very well with a variety of external agencies such as social services, other care providers, local GP’s and community nurses to provide appropriate care to meet people’s physical and emotional needs.

Observations made during our inspection showed people were given choices about how they wanted to be supported and how they wanted to live their lives. We also saw how relevant others had been involved in deciding the level of care and support required.

The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves.

People received support from a regular team of staff who they knew well and who understood the care and support they required. We saw that people were treated with kindness, dignity and respect and they made very positive comments about the staff who visited their homes.

We recommended that the provider ensured the records relating to the administration of people’s medications were accurate and reflected their current needs.

We recommended that the provider updated their recruitment and induction training policy to reflect their current procedures.