This was an announced inspection which took place on 2 August 2018.

Q1Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It currently provides a regulated activity to people with a range of needs.

We carried out a focussed inspection on 5 July 2017 as a result of whistle blowing concerns raised directly with us. As a result we asked the provider to take action to make improvements with safe recruitment practices and effective deployment and communication with staff. We found at this inspection that appropriate action had been taken and they had improved to good in both key questions.

There was a manager running the service who had applied to be registered. 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 and staff were protected from harm and were kept as safe as possible. Staff had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. Staff knew how to protect the people in their care and understood what action they needed to take if they identified any concerns. General risks and risks to individuals were identified and action was taken to reduce them. People were supported to take their medicines safely (if they needed support in this area) and medicines given were recorded accurately. People were supported by care staff whose values and attitudes were monitored and who had been safely recruited.

People’s needs were met safely and effectively because there were enough staff who were given enough time to meet their identified needs. People were assisted by care staff who had been trained and supported to make sure they could meet people’s varied needs. Care staff were effective in addressing people’s needs as described in their care plans. The service worked closely with health and other professionals to ensure they were able to meet any specific health or social care needs.

People were assisted to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

A caring, kind and committed staff team provide people with compassionate care. Care staff built close relationships with people and knew their preferences and requirements. The management team and care staff were aware of people’s equality and diversity needs which were noted on care plans. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

People benefitted from a flexible service that responded quickly to individuals' current and changing needs and preferences. People’s needs were reviewed regularly to ensure the care provided was up-to-date. Care plans included information to ensure people’s individual communication needs were understood.

The manager was described as supportive, well organised and caring. The manager and the staff team were committed to embracing diversity and did not tolerate any form of discrimination. The service assessed, reviewed and improved the quality of care provided regularly.